102k views
2 votes
Perform the indicated operation and simplify the result. Leave your answer in factored form.

{4-x}/{4+x}\{2x}{x²} -16

1 Answer

4 votes

Final Answer:

The simplified expression is (-1/2)(x-4)(x+4)/(x^2).

Step-by-step explanation:

We are given the expression {4-x}/{4+x}\{2x}{x²} -16 and we need to simplify it. We can start by factoring the denominator of the first fraction as (4+x) and the denominator of the second fraction as 2x*x^2 = 2x^3. This gives us:

(4-x)/(4+x) * 1/(2x^3) - 16

Next, we can combine the two fractions by finding a common denominator, which is 2x^3(4+x). This gives us:

(4-x)(2x^3) / [(4+x) * 2x^3] - 16(2x^3)(4+x) / [(4+x) * 2x^3]

Simplifying this expression, we get:

(-2x^2)(x-4)(x+4) / [(4+x) * 2x^3]

Finally, we can cancel out the common factor of 2x^2 in the numerator and denominator to get the simplified expression:

(-1/2)(x-4)(x+4)/(x^2)

Therefore, the simplified expression is (-1/2)(x-4)(x+4)/(x^2).