simplify -14xy / 42x^5y^8

Factor out 14xy(-)/14xy(3x^4y^7)

now cancel out 14xy
your left with -1/3x^4y^7

To simplify the expression (-14xy) / (42x^5y^8), you can start by canceling out any common factors in the numerator and denominator.

First, let's break down the factors in both the numerator and denominator:

Numerator: -14xy
Denominator: 42x^5y^8

Now, let's simplify each factor by canceling out any common factors:

In the numerator:
-14xy cannot be simplified any further.

In the denominator:
42x^5y^8 can be simplified as follows:
- 42 and x have no common factors with other terms, so they stay the same.
- Since x has an exponent of 5, we can cancel out one x from the numerator and five x's from the denominator, resulting in x^5 / x^5 = 1.
- Similarly, we can cancel out eight y's from the denominator, resulting in y^8 / y^8 = 1.

After canceling out the common factors, the simplified expression is:

(-14xy) / (42x^5y^8) = -1 / (3x^4y^7)

So, the simplified form of (-14xy) / (42x^5y^8) is -1 / (3x^4y^7).

To simplify the expression -14xy / 42x^5y^8, you can start by dividing both the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor (GCF), which in this case is 14xy. Let's break it down step by step:

Step 1: Identify the GCF.
The GCF of -14xy and 42x^5y^8 is 14xy.

Step 2: Divide the numerator and denominator by the GCF.
Dividing -14xy by 14xy, we get -1.
Dividing 42x^5y^8 by 14xy, we get 3x^4y^7.

Therefore, -14xy / 42x^5y^8 simplifies to
-1 / 3x^4y^7.

By dividing both the numerator and denominator by their GCF, we have simplified the expression.