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  1. 1Solving 7(x−2)=3x+10
  2. 2Solving a rational equation
  3. 3Solving 5−3x≤17
  4. 4Compound inequality
  5. 5Slope between two points
  6. 6Line through two points
  7. 7Slope and intercept from 3x−4y=12
  8. 8Parallel line through a point
  9. 9Perpendicular line equation
  10. 10Solving a system by substitution
  11. 11Elimination, 2 equations
  12. 12Two-variable ticket problem
  13. 13Equal cost of two plans
  14. 14Exponent rules, same base
  15. 15Fractional exponent, 27^(2/3)
  16. 16Evaluating 16^(−3/4)
  17. 17Simplifying root sums
  18. 18Rationalising 6/root3
  19. 19Solving a square root equation
  20. 20Solving 3^(x+1)=81
  21. 21Factoring x²−5x−24
  22. 22Factoring 2x²+7x−15
  23. 23Difference of squares
  24. 24Quadratic formula
  25. 25Completing the square
  26. 26Vertex of a parabola
  27. 27Discriminant of a quadratic
  28. 28One solution, discriminant=0
  29. 29Max height, projectile motion
  30. 30Expanding a binomial times trinomial
  31. 31Evaluating f(-2)
  32. 32Composing f(g(2)), g(f(2))
  33. 33Inverse function value
  34. 34Exponential growth, 5% a year
  35. 35Half-life decay
  36. 36Compound interest formula
  37. 37Solving |2x−5|=9
  38. 38Absolute value inequality
  39. 39Simplifying a rational expression
  40. 40Solving rational equation

39Simplifying a rational expression

Simplify x2−9x2+5x+6\displaystyle \dfrac{x^2 - 9}{x^2 + 5x + 6}, then evaluate it at x=4\displaystyle x = 4.

The expression simplifies to (x−3)/(x+2), since x²−9 factors as (x−3)(x+3) and x²+5x+6 factors as (x+2)(x+3), canceling the shared (x+3). At x=4 that gives 1/6, confirmed by plugging x=4 into the original: 7/42 = 1/6.

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