Finite Math Examples

$\frac{\frac{x - 4}{x^{2} - x}}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 1

Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.

$\frac{x - 4}{x^{2} - x} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 2

Factor $x$ out of $x^{2} - x$ .

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Step 2.1

Factor $x$ out of $x^{2}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x \cdot x - x} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 2.2

Factor $x$ out of $- x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x \cdot x + x \cdot - 1} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 2.3

Factor $x$ out of $x \cdot x + x \cdot - 1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3

Factor by grouping.

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Step 3.1

For a polynomial of the form $a x^{2} + b x + c$ , rewrite the middle term as a sum of two terms whose product is $a \cdot c = 2 \cdot 1 = 2$ and whose sum is $b = 3$ .

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Step 3.1.1

Factor $3$ out of $3 x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 3 (x) + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.1.2

Rewrite $3$ as $1$ plus $2$

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + (1 + 2) x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.1.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + 1 x + 2 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.1.4

Multiply $x$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{2 x^{2} + x + 2 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.2

Factor out the greatest common factor from each group.

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Step 3.2.1

Group the first two terms and the last two terms.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x^{2} + x) + 2 x + 1} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.2.2

Factor out the greatest common factor (GCF) from each group.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{x (2 x + 1) + 1 (2 x + 1)} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 3.3

Factor the polynomial by factoring out the greatest common factor, $2 x + 1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1}}$

Step 4

Simplify the denominator.

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Step 4.1

Rewrite $1$ as $1^{2}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)} - \frac{1}{x^{2} - 1^{2}}}$

Step 4.2

Since both terms are perfect squares, factor using the difference of squares formula, $a^{2} - b^{2} = (a + b) (a - b)$ where $a = x$ and $b = 1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)} - \frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5

Simplify the denominator.

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Step 5.1

To write $\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{x - 1}{x - 1}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)} \cdot \frac{x - 1}{x - 1} - \frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.2

To write $- \frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{2 x + 1}{2 x + 1}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)} \cdot \frac{x - 1}{x - 1} - \frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{2 x + 1}{2 x + 1}}$

Step 5.3

Write each expression with a common denominator of $(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)$ , by multiplying each by an appropriate factor of $1$ .

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Step 5.3.1

Multiply $\frac{x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}$ by $\frac{x - 1}{x - 1}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{(x - 1) (x - 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)} - \frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{2 x + 1}{2 x + 1}}$

Step 5.3.2

Multiply $\frac{1}{(x + 1) (x - 1)}$ by $\frac{2 x + 1}{2 x + 1}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{(x - 1) (x - 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)} - \frac{2 x + 1}{(x + 1) (x - 1) (2 x + 1)}}$

Step 5.3.3

Reorder the factors of $(x + 1) (x - 1) (2 x + 1)$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{(x - 1) (x - 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)} - \frac{2 x + 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.4

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{(x - 1) (x - 1) - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5

Rewrite $\frac{(x - 1) (x - 1) - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}$ in a factored form.

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Step 5.5.1

Expand $(x - 1) (x - 1)$ using the FOIL Method.

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Step 5.5.1.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x (x - 1) - 1 (x - 1) - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.1.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x \cdot x + x \cdot - 1 - 1 (x - 1) - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.1.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x \cdot x + x \cdot - 1 - 1 x - 1 \cdot - 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2

Simplify and combine like terms.

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Step 5.5.2.1

Simplify each term.

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Step 5.5.2.1.1

Multiply $x$ by $x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} + x \cdot - 1 - 1 x - 1 \cdot - 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2.1.2

Move $- 1$ to the left of $x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 1 \cdot x - 1 x - 1 \cdot - 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2.1.3

Rewrite $- 1 x$ as $- x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - x - 1 x - 1 \cdot - 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2.1.4

Rewrite $- 1 x$ as $- x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - x - x - 1 \cdot - 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2.1.5

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - x - x + 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.2.2

Subtract $x$ from $- x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 2 x + 1 - (2 x + 1)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 2 x + 1 - (2 x) - 1 \cdot 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.4

Multiply $2$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 2 x + 1 - 2 x - 1 \cdot 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.5

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 2 x + 1 - 2 x - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.6

Subtract $2 x$ from $- 2 x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 4 x + 1 - 1}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.7

Subtract $1$ from $1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 4 x + 0}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.8

Add $x^{2} - 4 x$ and $0$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x^{2} - 4 x}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.9

Factor $x$ out of $x^{2} - 4 x$ .

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Step 5.5.9.1

Factor $x$ out of $x^{2}$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x \cdot x - 4 x}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.9.2

Factor $x$ out of $- 4 x$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x \cdot x + x \cdot - 4}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 5.5.9.3

Factor $x$ out of $x \cdot x + x \cdot - 4$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{1}{\frac{x (x - 4)}{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}}$

Step 6

Multiply the numerator by the reciprocal of the denominator.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} (1 \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{x (x - 4)})$

Step 7

Multiply $\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{x (x - 4)}$ by $1$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{x (x - 4)}$

Step 8

Cancel the common factor of $x - 4$ .

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Step 8.1

Factor $x - 4$ out of $x (x - 4)$ .

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{(x - 4) x}$

Step 8.2

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{x - 4}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{(x - 4) x}$

Step 8.3

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{1}{x (x - 1)} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{x}$

Step 9

Cancel the common factor of $x - 1$ .

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Step 9.1

Factor $x - 1$ out of $x (x - 1)$ .

$\frac{1}{(x - 1) x} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)}{x}$

Step 9.2

Factor $x - 1$ out of $(2 x + 1) (x + 1) (x - 1)$ .

$\frac{1}{(x - 1) x} \cdot \frac{(x - 1) ((2 x + 1) (x + 1))}{x}$

Step 9.3

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{1}{(x - 1) x} \cdot \frac{(x - 1) ((2 x + 1) (x + 1))}{x}$

Step 9.4

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{1}{x} \cdot \frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x}$

Step 10

Multiply $\frac{1}{x}$ by $\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x}$ .

$\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x \cdot x}$

Step 11

Raise $x$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x^{1} x}$

Step 12

Raise $x$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x^{1} x^{1}}$

Step 13

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x^{1 + 1}}$

Step 14

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{(2 x + 1) (x + 1)}{x^{2}}$