New member Q

Hi,

My name is Kevin and I am new to this forum. I am studying for the College Placement Test. I am a middle aged man who has decided to go back to school. I'm having trouble with the following problem:

x^2 - x - 6 / x^2 - 4 =

A) x - 3 / 2

B) x - 3 / x - 2

C) x - 3 / x + 2

D) 3 / 2

I know the answer is B but I don't know how they came about the answer.

Thank You

lawkev said:

x^2 - x - 6 / x^2 - 4 =

Click to expand...

First, brackets are required:
(x^2 - x - 6) / (x^2 - 4)
Without brackets, the division is restricted to -6/x^2

The numerator and denominator need to be factored:
x^2 - x - 6 = (x - 3)(x + 2)
x^2 - 4 = (x - 2)(x + 2)

So we now have:
[(x - 3)(x + 2)] / [(x - 2)(x + 2)]
Can you finish it?

If you've forgotten about factoring, go here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 957296665#