Precalculus Examples

$R (x) = \frac{3 (x^{2} - x - 6)}{4 (x^{2} - 9)}$

Step 1

Set the denominator in $\frac{3 (x^{2} - x - 6)}{4 (x^{2} - 9)}$ equal to $0$ to find where the expression is undefined.

$4 (x^{2} - 9) = 0$

Step 2

Solve for $x$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1

Divide each term in $4 (x^{2} - 9) = 0$ by $4$ and simplify.

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1.1

Divide each term in $4 (x^{2} - 9) = 0$ by $4$ .

$\frac{4 (x^{2} - 9)}{4} = \frac{0}{4}$

Step 2.1.2

Simplify the left side.

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1.2.1

Cancel the common factor of $4$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1.2.1.1

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{4 (x^{2} - 9)}{4} = \frac{0}{4}$

Step 2.1.2.1.2

Divide $x^{2} - 9$ by $1$ .

$x^{2} - 9 = \frac{0}{4}$

Step 2.1.3

Simplify the right side.

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.1.3.1

Divide $0$ by $4$ .

$x^{2} - 9 = 0$

Step 2.2

Add $9$ to both sides of the equation.

$x^{2} = 9$

Step 2.3

Take the specified root of both sides of the equation to eliminate the exponent on the left side.

$x = \pm \sqrt{9}$

Step 2.4

Simplify $\pm \sqrt{9}$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.4.1

Rewrite $9$ as $3^{2}$ .

$x = \pm \sqrt{3^{2}}$

Step 2.4.2

Pull terms out from under the radical, assuming positive real numbers.

$x = \pm 3$

Step 2.5

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

Tap for more steps...

Step 2.5.1

First, use the positive value of the $\pm$ to find the first solution.

$x = 3$

Step 2.5.2

Next, use the negative value of the $\pm$ to find the second solution.

$x = - 3$

Step 2.5.3

The complete solution is the result of both the positive and negative portions of the solution.

$x = 3, - 3$

Step 3

The domain is all values of $x$ that make the expression defined.

Interval Notation:

$(- \infty, - 3) \cup (- 3, 3) \cup (3, \infty)$

Set-Builder Notation:

${x | x \neq 3, - 3}$

Step 4