EQUATIONS INVOLVING FRACTIONS (RATIONAL EQUATIONS)

Note:




If you would like an in-depth review of fractions, click on Fractions.


Solve for x in the following equation.



Problem 5.2e:

tex2html_wrap_inline277

Answer:tex2html_wrap_inline279 are the exact answers and tex2html_wrap_inline281 -5.69157361327 are the approximate answer.



Comment on answers: You may wonder why we give you the answers in two forms: exact and approximate. There is a reason. Students seem perplexed when they think they have worked a problem correctly and yet, their exact answers differ from the exact answers in the book. The student is not necessarily wrong. Depending on the method chosen to work the problem, exact answers have a different look. How do you know whether your exact answer is equivalent to a different looking exact answer in the book? Simplify both. If both exact answers are correct, they will both simplify to the same approximate answer.


Next time your answer differs from the answer in the book, simplify both. If the approximate answers are the same, you are correct. If not, go back to the drawing board and try to find your mistake.



Solution:



Recall that you cannot divide by zero. Therefore, the first fraction is valid if , tex2html_wrap_inline285 the second fraction is valid if tex2html_wrap_inline287 and the third fraction is valid is tex2html_wrap_inline289 .If either tex2html_wrap_inline291 or tex2html_wrap_inline293 turn out to be the solutions, you must discard them as extraneous solutions.




Multiply both sides by the least common multiple tex2html_wrap_inline295 (the smallest number that all the denominators will divide into evenly). This step will eliminate all the denominators.

eqnarray59

eqnarray67




which is equivalent to

eqnarray82




which can be rewritten as

eqnarray97




which can be rewritten as

eqnarray106




which can be simplified to

eqnarray121



eqnarray129




Solve for x using the quadratic formula tex2html_wrap_inline297 tex2html_wrap_inline299

eqnarray140

eqnarray147

eqnarray156

eqnarray163




The answers are tex2html_wrap_inline301 However, this may or may not be the answer. You must check the solution with the original equation.




Check the solution tex2html_wrap_inline305 by substituting 1.0249069466 in the original equation for x. If the left side of the equation equals the right side of the equation after the substitution, you have found the correct answer.


Since the left side of the original equation is reasonably close to the right side of the original equation after we substitute the value 1.0249069466 for x, then x=1.0249069466 is a solution.




Check the solution tex2html_wrap_inline317 by substituting -5.69157361327 in the original equation for x. If the left side of the equation equals the right side of the equation after the substitution, you have found the correct answer.


Since the left side of the original equation is reasonably close to the right side of the original equation after we substitute the value 0.60996277864 for x, then x=0.60996277864 is a solution.




You can also check your answer by graphing tex2html_wrap_inline329 (formed by subtracting the right side of the original equation from the left side). Look to see where the graph crosses the x-axis; that will be the real solution. Note that the graph crosses the x-axis at two places: tex2html_wrap_inline331 .



We have verified the solution two ways.




If you would like to review the solution to problem 5.2f, click on problem.


If you would like to return to the beginning of this section, click on again.


If you would like to go back to the equation table of contents, click on contents.



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