What value would cause the rational expression 5x+15−2x2−16x−32

to be undefined?(1 point)

1 answer

To determine when the rational expression \(\frac{5x + 15}{-2x^2 - 16x - 32}\) is undefined, we need to find the values of \(x\) that make the denominator equal to zero.

First, we set the denominator to zero:

\[ -2x^2 - 16x - 32 = 0 \]

To simplify this, we can factor out \(-2\):

\[ -2(x^2 + 8x + 16) = 0 \]

Now, we solve the quadratic equation:

\[ x^2 + 8x + 16 = 0 \]

This can be factored as:

\[ (x + 4)(x + 4) = 0 \]

or

\[ (x + 4)^2 = 0 \]

Setting the factor equal to zero gives us:

\[ x + 4 = 0 \quad \Rightarrow \quad x = -4 \]

Thus, the value that would cause the rational expression to be undefined is:

\[ \boxed{-4} \]