To simplify the expression \( \frac{2y^2 - 2xy}{x^2 - y^2} \), we will first factor both the numerator and the denominator.
-
Factor the numerator:
The numerator can be factored as: \[ 2y^2 - 2xy = 2(y^2 - xy) = 2y(y - x) \]
-
Factor the denominator:
The denominator \( x^2 - y^2 \) is a difference of squares and can be factored as: \[ x^2 - y^2 = (x - y)(x + y) \]
-
Put it all together:
After factoring, the expression becomes: \[ \frac{2y(y - x)}{(x - y)(x + y)} \]
Note that \( (x - y) = -1(y - x) \), so we can rewrite the expression: \[ \frac{2y(y - x)}{-1(y - x)(x + y)} = \frac{-2y}{(x + y)} \]
-
Final simplified form:
Thus, the expression simplifies to: \[ \frac{-2y}{x + y} \]
Therefore, the simplest form of the expression \( \frac{2y^2 - 2xy}{x^2 - y^2} \) is: \[ \frac{-2y}{x + y} \]