20.3k views
5 votes
(1)/(x+1)-(5x-2)/(x^(2)-5x-6) Which simplified expression represents the sum and difference of the original expression?

1 Answer

1 vote

Final answer:

The simplified expression of (1)/(x+1)-(5x-2)/(x^2-5x-6) is -4/(x-6) after factoring the quadratic, finding the least common denominator, and canceling out common factors.

Step-by-step explanation:

To simplify the expression (1)/(x+1)-(5x-2)/(x^2-5x-6), we first need to factorize the quadratic expression in the denominator of the second term. The quadratic expression x^2 - 5x - 6 can be factored into (x-6)(x+1). By doing this, we identify the least common denominator (LCD) of the given expression as (x-6)(x+1).

Next, we convert each term to have the LCD as its denominator:

  • The first term is already over (x+1), so we just need to multiply its numerator and denominator by (x-6).
  • The second term is already over (x-6)(x+1), so it remains unchanged.

Once both fractions have the common denominator, we can combine them:

(1(x-6))/(x-6)(x+1) - (5x-2)/(x-6)(x+1)

Simplifying this, we get:

(x-6-5x+2)/(x^2-5x-6)

And further simplification leads to:

(-4x-4)/(x^2-5x-6) or (-4)(x+1)/(x-6)(x+1)

We can now cancel out the common factors to get the final simplified expression:

-4/(x-6)

User Uziii
by
7.7k points