implify the following rational expressions (don’t forget to cancel if you can). And define the constraints (what 𝓧 cannot be) (show all work): 6x/x+1 - 5/5x^3

1 answer

To simplify the given rational expression:

\[ \frac{6x}{x+1} - \frac{5}{5x^3} \]

Step 1: Find a common denominator.

The common denominator between \(x+1\) and \(5x^3\) is \(5x^3(x+1)\).

Step 2: Rewrite each fraction with the common denominator.

The first term:

\[ \frac{6x}{x+1} = \frac{6x \cdot 5x^3}{(x+1) \cdot 5x^3} = \frac{30x^4}{5x^3(x+1)} \]

The second term:

\[ \frac{5}{5x^3} = \frac{5 \cdot (x+1)}{5x^3 \cdot (x+1)} = \frac{5(x+1)}{5x^3(x+1)} = \frac{5x + 5}{5x^3(x+1)} \]

Step 3: Combine the fractions.

Now we can combine the fractions:

\[ \frac{30x^4}{5x^3(x+1)} - \frac{5(x+1)}{5x^3(x+1)} = \frac{30x^4 - (5x + 5)}{5x^3(x+1)} \]

Step 4: Simplify the numerator.

Distributing the negative sign in the numerator:

\[ 30x^4 - 5x - 5 \]

So, we have:

\[ \frac{30x^4 - 5x - 5}{5x^3(x+1)} \]

Step 5: Factor the numerator if possible.

Let's factor the numerator \(30x^4 - 5x - 5\):

We can try factoring out \(5\) from the numerator:

\[ 5(6x^4 - x - 1) \]

Thus, the expression now looks like:

\[ \frac{5(6x^4 - x - 1)}{5x^3(x+1)} \]

The \(5\) cancels out:

\[ \frac{6x^4 - x - 1}{x^3(x+1)} \]

Step 6: Final simplified form.

The simplified rational expression is:

\[ \frac{6x^4 - x - 1}{x^3(x+1)} \]

Step 7: Define the constraints.

The expression is undefined when the denominator equals zero. To find constraints:

  1. \(x^3 = 0 \implies x = 0\)
  2. \(x + 1 = 0 \implies x = -1\)

Thus, \(x\) cannot equal \(0\) or \(-1\).

Final answer:

The simplified expression is:

\[ \frac{6x^4 - x - 1}{x^3(x+1)} \]

And the constraints are:

\[ x \neq 0, , x \neq -1 \]