Q. Simplify. Express your answer as a single fraction in simplest form. 4r5s−s
Identify Like Terms: Identify the like terms in the expression.The expression is 4r5s−s. To combine these terms into a single fraction, we need to have the same denominator for both terms.
Find Common Denominator: Find a common denominator.The first term has a denominator of 4, and the second term, s, can be thought of as s/1. To combine these, we can write s with a denominator of 4 by multiplying both the numerator and the denominator by 4.
Rewrite with Common Denominator: Rewrite the expression with a common denominator.4r5s−s becomes 4r5s−4(s⋅4)
Combine Fractions: Combine the fractions.Now that both terms have the same denominator, we can combine them into a single fraction.r5s/4−(s×4)/4 becomes (r5s−4s)/4
Simplify Numerator: Simplify the numerator if possible.In the numerator r5s−4s, we cannot combine the terms further because they are not like terms (one has an r5 and the other does not). Therefore, the expression is already in its simplest form.
More problems from Simplify mixed rational expressions