i need help simplifyng this expression
72a^2*b^3/-24a^2*b^5
72/-24 = -3
a^2/a^2 = 1
b^3/b^5 = 1/b^2 so =
-3/b^2
72a^2*b^3
___________
-24a^2*b^5
simplifying you go and reduce then divide the larger by the smaller
4a^2*b^3
___________
-1a^2*b^5
now I divide...a's cancel out and b's subtract since you divide the b's and subtract the larger by smaller b^5-b^3=b^2
-4
___
b^2
I meant -3/b^2 of course.
To simplify the expression (72a^2 * b^3) / (-24a^2 * b^5), you can simplify the coefficients (the numbers in front of the variables) separately from the variables.
Let's simplify the coefficients first:
72/-24 = -3
Now, let's simplify the variables:
a^2 / a^2 = 1 (since dividing same bases with equal exponents results in 1)
b^3 / b^5 = 1 / b^2 (since dividing same bases with different exponents subtracts the exponents: 3 - 5 = -2)
Combining the simplified coefficients and variables, we have:
-3 * (1 / b^2) or -3/b^2
Therefore, the simplified expression is -3/b^2.