Question

can you help me simplify this? I dunno why I'm having troubles:

(3a - 6 - 3b+6 /ab-2a-2b+4)/b-a

Answer 1

Is that supposed to be
\[\frac{(\frac{3a - 6 -3b + 6 } {ab - 2a - 2b +4 } )} {b-a }\]

Answer 2

yeah

Answer 3

Well, I would factor everything, and then remember that dividing a fraction by something is the same as multiplying the fraction by 1/something, so that you'd have

\[\frac{3a-6-3b+6}{a b - 2a -2b + 4}*\frac{1}{b-a}\]and then you'd be able to do some cancelation to simplify

Answer 4

so i got it down to -3(-a+b) divided by (a-2)(b-2) multiplied by 1/b-a.
the top -a+b can be crossed out by 1/b-a but I don't know what more I can do

Answer 5

am i doing something totally wrong?

Answer 6

Do you expect the end result will be something very simple?

\[-\frac{3}{(a-2)(b-2)}\] is as good as you can do, I believe.

Answer 7

Do you understand @whpalmer4 's method?

Answer 8

the fraction becomes

\[\frac{3a -6 - 3b + 6}{ab - 2a - ab + 4}*\frac{1}{b-a} = \frac{3(a-b)}{(a b - 2a -2b + 4)(b-a)} \]\[= \frac{-3\cancel{(b-a)}}{\cancel{(b-a)}(ab - 2a - 2b + 4) } = -\frac{3}{(a-2)(b-2)}\]

Answer 9

Yep.to flip a-b multiply the terms by -1. easier to cancel.

Answer 10

thanks guys!