My Math Forum Stuck on an equation

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 July 2nd, 2011, 05:11 PM #1 Newbie   Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Stuck on an equation i am having trouble breaking this down. can someone help me out with this? It's a rational expression. $\frac{3}{2x+2} - \frac{5}{4x-4}=\frac{2x}{x^2-1}$ I believe the LCD is 2(x+1) 2(x-2) but that's as far as I have gotten. If anyone can help it would be awesome!
 July 2nd, 2011, 05:24 PM #2 Global Moderator     Joined: Nov 2009 From: Northwest Arkansas Posts: 2,767 Thanks: 5 Re: Stuck on an equation I would choose 4(x + 1)(x - 1) as a common denominator. Notice that you can write your equation as: $\frac{3}{2(x+1)} - \frac{5}{4(x-1)}=\frac{2x}{(x + 1)(x - 1)}$ Would you care to multiply by the LCD and show us your progress?
 July 2nd, 2011, 06:19 PM #3 Newbie   Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Re: Stuck on an equation OK I multiplied by the LCD and got 6(x-1)-5(x+1)=8x That would distribute out to 6x-6-5x-5=8x and then x-11=8x and then -8x+x-11=0? this is where I'm not sure. Am I ok up to that point?
 July 2nd, 2011, 06:54 PM #4 Senior Member     Joined: Jul 2010 From: St. Augustine, FL., U.S.A.'s oldest city Posts: 12,211 Thanks: 522 Math Focus: Calculus/ODEs Re: Stuck on an equation Yes, you've done fine so far. I would back up one step to: x - 11 = 8x Subtract x from both sides: -11 = 7x Divide through by 7: -(11/7) = x
 July 2nd, 2011, 07:04 PM #5 Newbie   Joined: Jul 2011 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Re: Stuck on an equation awesome, thanks very much

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