Final answer:
Multiplying/dividing and adding/subtracting rational expressions are similar to multiplying/dividing and adding/subtracting fractions, respectively.
Step-by-step explanation:
Multiplying/dividing rational expressions is similar to multiplying/dividing fractions because in both cases we multiply the numerators and denominators. For example, if we have the rational expressions (2/3)x and (4/5)y, their product would be (2/3)(4/5)xy = 8/15xy. This is similar to multiplying fractions, where we multiply the numerators and denominators to get the product.
Adding/subtracting rational expressions is similar to adding/subtracting fractions because we need to find a common denominator before performing the addition/subtraction. For example, if we have the rational expressions (2/x) + (3/y), we need to find a common denominator of xy. So the expression becomes (2y/xy) + (3x/xy) = (2y + 3x)/xy. This is similar to adding fractions, where we find a common denominator before adding the numerators.
Learn more about Similarities between rational expressions and fractions