Complete the expression.

StartFraction 2 t Over 7 t minus 28 EndFraction
equalsStartFraction nothing Over 21 t minus 84 EndFraction
  
   
​(Simplify your​ answer.)

1 answer

To complete the expression

\[ \frac{2t}{7t - 28} = \frac{\text{nothing}}{21t - 84}, \]

we first simplify both sides.

  1. Simplify the left side:

    The denominator on the left, \(7t - 28\), can be factored: \[ 7t - 28 = 7(t - 4). \] Thus, we have: \[ \frac{2t}{7(t - 4)}. \]

  2. Simplify the right side:

    The denominator on the right, \(21t - 84\), can also be factored: \[ 21t - 84 = 21(t - 4). \] Therefore, we rewrite the right side as: \[ \frac{\text{nothing}}{21(t - 4)}. \]

Now we need to equate the two sides: \[ \frac{2t}{7(t - 4)} = \frac{\text{nothing}}{21(t - 4)}. \]

To find what "nothing" corresponds to, we can cross-multiply: \[ 2t \cdot 21(t - 4) = \text{nothing} \cdot 7(t - 4). \]

To solve for "nothing," we note that if we examine the relationship revealed by cross-multiplying: \[ \text{nothing} = \frac{2t \cdot 21(t - 4)}{7(t - 4)}. \] Since \(t - 4\) cancels out (as long as \(t \neq 4\)), we have: \[ \text{nothing} = \frac{2t \cdot 21}{7} = 6t. \]

Finally, we can express the completed and simplified original fraction equality as: \[ \frac{2t}{7t - 28} = \frac{6t}{21t - 84}. \]

So, the completed expression would conclude with: \[ \text{nothing} = 6t. \]