Simplify the Rational Expression: (5x²-1)/(15x⁴-3x²)

Question

Simplify:

5x2115x43x2 \frac{5x^2-1}{15x^4-3x^2}

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Simply
00:04 Let's factorize 15 into factors 5 and 3
00:10 Let's break down power of 4 into 2 squared factors
00:20 Let's mark the common factors
00:41 Let's take out the common factors from the parentheses
00:53 Let's reduce what we can
01:00 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

Let's simplify the given expression:

5x2115x43x2 \frac{5x^2-1}{15x^4-3x^2} Remember that we can reduce complete expressions only when both the numerator and denominator are completely factored into multiplication expressions,

For this, we'll use factorization, identify that in the denominator we can factor out a common term, do this, then reduce the expressions possible in the fraction we got (reduction sign):

5x2115x43x25x213x2(5x21)13x2 \frac{5x^2-1}{15x^4-3x^2} \\ \frac{5x^2-1}{3x^2(5x^2-1)} \\ \downarrow\\ \boxed{\frac{1}{3x^2}} In the first stage, to factor out the common term in the denominator, we also used the law of exponents:aman=am+n a^m\cdot a^n=a^{m+n}

Therefore, the correct answer is answer B.

Answer

13x2 \frac{1}{3x^2}