Multiply.

      StartFraction 5 x minus 15 Over 7 x plus 21 EndFraction
timesStartFraction 4 x plus 12 Over 14 x minus 42 EndFraction

1 answer

To multiply the two fractions \(\frac{5x - 15}{7x + 21}\) and \(\frac{4x + 12}{14x - 42}\), we follow these steps:

  1. Factor each expression where possible.

    • For \(5x - 15\): \[ 5x - 15 = 5(x - 3) \]

    • For \(7x + 21\): \[ 7x + 21 = 7(x + 3) \]

    • For \(4x + 12\): \[ 4x + 12 = 4(x + 3) \]

    • For \(14x - 42\): \[ 14x - 42 = 14(x - 3) \]

  2. Substituting the factored forms into the fraction: \[ \frac{5(x - 3)}{7(x + 3)} \times \frac{4(x + 3)}{14(x - 3)} \]

  3. Multiply the fractions: \[ = \frac{5(x - 3) \cdot 4(x + 3)}{7(x + 3) \cdot 14(x - 3)} \]

  4. Cancel out the common factors:

    • \(x - 3\) in the numerator and denominator.
    • \(x + 3\) in the numerator and denominator.

    After cancellation, we have: \[ = \frac{5 \cdot 4}{7 \cdot 14} = \frac{20}{98} \]

  5. Simplify \(\frac{20}{98}\):

    • The greatest common divisor (GCD) of 20 and 98 is 2. \[ \frac{20 \div 2}{98 \div 2} = \frac{10}{49} \]

The final answer is: \[ \frac{10}{49} \]