How do I write this problem as a single fraction? Sorry my addition button doesn't work.
2x plus 7y 2x plus 5y
____________ - ____________ plus 2
8x 2x
I understood it as
[ (2x + 7y) / 8x ] - [ (2x + 5y) / 2x ] + 2
We can combine them as long as their denominators are the same. Their LCD is 8x.
For the first term, its denominator is already 8x so it stays the same.
For the second term, to make 2x become 8x, we multiply the denominator by 4, but at the same time multiplying the numerator by 4:
4*(2x + 5y) / 4*2x = (8x + 20y) / 8x
For the third term, we multiply both numerator and denominator by 4x:
2 * 8x / 8x = 16x / 8x
Rewriting,
[ (2x + 7y) / 8x ] - [ (8x + 20y) / 8x ] + 16x / 8x
Combining all numerator terms, with denominator equal to 8x,
= (2x + 7y - 8x - 20y + 16x) / 8x
= (10x - 13y) / 8x
hope this helps~ `u`