No, you cannot directly cancel out \( 3x \) from both the numerator and the denominator in the expression \( \frac{x^2 - 3x}{3x - 3} \). This is because you can only cancel out a factor that is common to both the numerator and the denominator.
First, let's factor both the numerator and the denominator:
- Numerator: \( x^2 - 3x = x(x - 3) \)
- Denominator: \( 3x - 3 = 3(x - 1) \)
So, our expression can be rewritten as:
\[ \frac{x(x - 3)}{3(x - 1)} \]
Now you can see that there are no common factors between the numerator and the denominator that allow for cancellation. Therefore, you cannot cancel \( 3x \). The simplification is:
\[ \frac{x(x - 3)}{3(x - 1)} \]
This is the simplest form of the expression.
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