- #1
velox_xox
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Hi everyone and nice to meet you. I'm velox_xox a newbie to PF and a high school correspondence student currently taking Algebra II. Since I'm correspondence, I am basically teaching myself my subjects, which means if I don't understand something it's a big problem. I enjoy math, but I must admit it is one of my weaker subjects so any help on this and future questions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you!
Simplify: x^2 - y^2 - 4y - 4 / x^2 - y^2 -4x + 4
The answer (according to the back of the book) should be: x + y + 2 / x + y - 2
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I've tried multiple combinations to try to get the correct answer. Here is my closest one:
x^2 - y^2 - 4y - 4 / x^2 - y^2 - 4x + 4 =
Using the difference of the squares and distributive property to factor I got:
(x + y)(x - y) -4(y +1) / (x + y)(x-y) -4(x-1) =
Simplify by getting rid of like terms:
(y + 1) / (x - 1)
I'm pretty sure I'm missing some combination between GCF, factoring, Perfect Square Trinomials, and/or Difference of Squares. I just can't see which ones to use that will give me the right answer.
Homework Statement
Simplify: x^2 - y^2 - 4y - 4 / x^2 - y^2 -4x + 4
The answer (according to the back of the book) should be: x + y + 2 / x + y - 2
Homework Equations
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The Attempt at a Solution
I've tried multiple combinations to try to get the correct answer. Here is my closest one:
x^2 - y^2 - 4y - 4 / x^2 - y^2 - 4x + 4 =
Using the difference of the squares and distributive property to factor I got:
(x + y)(x - y) -4(y +1) / (x + y)(x-y) -4(x-1) =
Simplify by getting rid of like terms:
(y + 1) / (x - 1)
I'm pretty sure I'm missing some combination between GCF, factoring, Perfect Square Trinomials, and/or Difference of Squares. I just can't see which ones to use that will give me the right answer.