Simplify rational expressions by canceling monomial factors

The  exercise appears under the Algebra II Math Mission. This exercise practices factoring the numerator and the denominator of a rational expression and cancel out common monomial terms.

Types of Problems
There are two types of problems in this exercise:


 * 1) Simplify the following rational expression: This problem provides a rational expression. The student is asked to correctly simplify the ratio and provide which values would make the expression undefined.Simplify rational expressions by canceling monomial factors2.PNG
 * 2) Find the student(s) that wrote an equivalent expression: This problem provides a rational expression. The student is asked to correctly find which student(s) correctly wrote an equivalent expression.

Strategies
Knowledge of fractions and factoring are encouraged to ensure success while done exercise.
 * 1) In these problems, there is a common factor that can be divided out of all four terms in the ratio.
 * 2) A monomial can be factored out of the numerator and the denominator.
 * 3) There are no restrictions needed on this exercise because the variable is assumed to be non-zero in general.
 * 4) Finding the GCF of all the terms can increase efficiency.

Real-life Applications

 * 1) Rational expressions are an abstraction of fractions and will increase proficiency with fractions.
 * 2) Rational equations occur in "Work rate problems" and distance=rate*time ($$d=r\times t$$) problems.