Question

How do you simplify `\frac { y ^ { 2} + 5y + 4} { y ^ { 2} - 16}`?

Answer 1

See a solution process below:

Explanation:

We can factor the numerator and denominator as:

`((y + 4)(y + 1))/((y + 4)(y - 4))`

We can now cancel common terms in the numerator and denominator:

`(color(red)(cancel(color(black)((y + 4))))(y + 1))/(color(red)(cancel(color(black)((y + 4))))(y - 4)) =>`

`(y + 1)/(y - 4)`