Question

Stuck on my last hw problem...need to simplify compound fractional expression....please go step by step XD

http://imageshack.us/a/img171/2176/pleasesimplify.png

Answer 1

first.... do you know how to put \[\frac yx - \frac xy\] as one fraction only?

Answer 2

wait... it's \[\frac xy - \frac yx\]

Answer 3

do you know how to put that as one fraction?

Answer 4

yes i do

Answer 5

i tried to do top and bottom seperately but i got stuck after I simplified top and bottom to x^2-y^2/xy and 8y^2-8x^2/(8x^2)(8y^2)

Answer 6

so you have \[\Large \frac{\frac{x^2-y^2}{xy}}{\frac{8x^2 - 8y^2}{64xy}}\]

Answer 7

is there a way to pull out the 8s? i'm pretty sure that is all I need to make everything cancel out at the end

Answer 8

you can factor out the 8 in that denominator \[\huge \implies \frac{\frac{x^2 - y^2}{xy}}{\frac{8(x^2 - y^2)}{8(8xy)}}\]
do you see what to do now?

Answer 9

yes :D

Answer 10

I think I can solve it now 0.0...that is what I have been trying to figure out to do for last 10 minutes lol

Answer 11

that should be \[\huge \frac{\frac{x^2 - y^2}{xy}}{\frac{8(x^2 - y^2)}{8(8x^2y^2)}}\]
i copied wrong

Answer 12

hmM i end up with 8(8x^2y^2)/8xy

Answer 13

but wolfram says answer is -8xy 0.0

Answer 14

hmm i see what we did wrong...let me show you

\[\huge \frac{\frac xy - \frac yx}{\frac 1{8x^2} - \frac 1{8y^2}}\]
\[\huge \implies \frac{\frac{x^2 - y^2}{xy}}{\frac{8y^2 - 8x^2}{64x^2y^2}}\]
do you see the difference with what I did earlier?

Answer 15

the x is negative on bottom and the y is negative on top?

Answer 16

so in order to make the x^2-y^2 on bottom cancel with top you have to pull out the negative to the front?

Answer 17

right. so what does that give you?

Answer 18

gives me...64x^2y^2/-8xy which simplifies to -8xy/1 which = -8xy

Answer 19

right! good one

Answer 20

awesome, THANK YOU!! :"D