Which of the following is the simplified form?

18x^2-12x+6/3x
A.6x^2-4x+2
B.6x-4+2/x
C.6x^3-4x^2+2x
D.6x-2

1 answer

To simplify the expression \( \frac{18x^2 - 12x + 6}{3x} \), we can start by factoring out the common factor in the numerator.

  1. First, we'll factor the numerator \( 18x^2 - 12x + 6 \):

    • Each term in \( 18x^2 - 12x + 6 \) can be divided by 6: \[ 18x^2 - 12x + 6 = 6(3x^2 - 2x + 1) \]
  2. Now substitute this back into the fraction: \[ \frac{18x^2 - 12x + 6}{3x} = \frac{6(3x^2 - 2x + 1)}{3x} \]

  3. We can further simplify by canceling: \[ = \frac{6}{3} \cdot \frac{3x^2 - 2x + 1}{x} = 2 \cdot \frac{3x^2 - 2x + 1}{x} \]

  4. Now, distribute the \( \frac{1}{x} \) to each term in the polynomial \( 3x^2 - 2x + 1 \): \[ = 2(3x - 2 + \frac{1}{x}) = 6x - 4 + \frac{2}{x} \]

Therefore, the simplified form of the expression is: \[ 6x - 4 + \frac{2}{x} \]

Thus, the correct answer is: B. 6x - 4 + \frac{2}{x}