Question

please help, this is an algebra 2 question :) I attached the problem in a photo - simplify the following expression

Answer 1

`(x^2+19x-56)/(4x^2-32x)`

Explanation:

To add two fractions we need a common denominator. Just by looking at the two, there are no common factors. This means the denominator would be the product of the two: 4x(x-8). In order to obtain this, we multiply the first fraction by (x-8)/(x-8) - 1, and the second by 4x/4x - 1:

`(x+7)/(4x) *(x-8)/(x-8) +(5)/(x-8)*(4x)/(4x)`

We can use the distributive property to simplify:

`(x^2-x-56)/(4x(x-8)) +(20x)/(4x(x-8))`

The sum of the two is:

`(x^2+19x-56)/(4x^2-32x)`