How do you simplify #(x^2 – 6x – 7 )/( x^2 – 1)#?
1 Answer
Oct 7, 2015
Explanation:
Notice that you can rewrite the numerator of the fraction as
#x^2 - 6x - 7 = x^2 - 7x + x - 7#
#=x(x-7) + (x-7) = (x-7)(x+1)#
The denominator of the fraction can be rewritten as
#x^2-1 = (x-1)(x+1)#
This means that the expression becomes
#( cancel((x+1)) * (x-7))/(cancel((x+1)) * (x-1)) = color(green)((x-7)/(x-1))#
