Question

Determine the value(s) for which the rational expression 5x6x is undefined. If there's more than one value, list them separated by a comma, e.g. x=2,3.

Answer 1

Answer: 0

Step-by-step explanation:

We cannot have zero in the denominator. If x = 0, then the denominator 6x becomes 6x = 6*0 = 0. So we must exclude this from the domain to avoid a division by zero error.

One could argue that the 'x's cancel out when we divide. Yes that's true and
`(5x)/(6x) = (5)/(6)`, but as far as the calculator is concerned, it will not try to simplify the expression (unless it's a specific type of calculator). Instead, the calculator would likely follow the order of operations PEMDAS to try to compute directly. The calculator would hit the stumbling block of dividing by zero and produce "undefined" or "not a number".