Write the rational expression as an equivalent expression with the indicated denominator.

StartFraction 18 r Over r squared minus r minus 12 EndFraction equals StartFraction question mark Over left parenthesis r minus 4 right parenthesis left parenthesis r plus 3 right parenthesis left parenthesis r plus 2 right parenthesis EndFraction

1 answer

To rewrite the expression \(\frac{18r}{r^2 - r - 12}\) with the indicated denominator \((r - 4)(r + 3)(r + 2)\), we first need to factor \(r^2 - r - 12\).

  1. Factor the denominator: We are looking for two numbers that multiply to \(-12\) (the constant term) and add to \(-1\) (the coefficient of \(r\)). Those numbers are \(-4\) and \(3\).

    So, we can factor: \[ r^2 - r - 12 = (r - 4)(r + 3) \]

  2. Rewrite the original rational expression: Now we can express the original rational expression: \[ \frac{18r}{r^2 - r - 12} = \frac{18r}{(r - 4)(r + 3)} \]

  3. Set the equal sign with the new denominator: To adjust it to have the new denominator of \((r - 4)(r + 3)(r + 2)\), we can multiply the numerator and denominator of \(\frac{18r}{(r - 4)(r + 3)}\) by \((r + 2)\): \[ \frac{18r}{(r - 4)(r + 3)} \cdot \frac{(r + 2)}{(r + 2)} = \frac{18r(r + 2)}{(r - 4)(r + 3)(r + 2)} \]

  4. Write the final expression: This gives us the expression with the specified denominator: \[ \frac{18r(r + 2)}{(r - 4)(r + 3)(r + 2)} \]

Thus, the rational expression as an equivalent expression with the indicated denominator is: \[ \frac{18r(r + 2)}{(r - 4)(r + 3)(r + 2)} \] So, the answer is: \[ 18r(r + 2) \]