Divide. Enter your answer as a single completely simplified rational expression with nonnegative exponents. \[ \frac{2 r^{2}+9 r+7}{r^{2}-49} \div \frac{2 r^{2}+13 r+21}{r^{2}-14 r+49} \]
Real Tutor Solution
Answer
Solution
Sign in to Unlock Answers for Free!
A Learning Platform Trusted by Millions of Real Students and Teachers.
Reviewed and approved by the UpStudy tutoring team
Beyond the Answer
To simplify the expression, we first rewrite the division as multiplication by the reciprocal: \[ \frac{2 r^{2}+9 r+7}{r^{2}-49} \cdot \frac{r^{2}-14 r+49}{2 r^{2}+13 r+21} \] Next, we factor each polynomial. 1. The denominator \(r^2 - 49\) is a difference of squares: \[ r^2 - 49 = (r - 7)(r + 7) \] 2. The numerator \(2r^2 + 9r + 7\) can be factored by finding two numbers that multiply to \(2 \times 7 = 14\) and add to \(9\). The factors are \(2\) and \(7\): \[ 2r^2 + 9r + 7 = (2r + 7)(r + 1) \] 3. The polynomial \(r^2 - 14r + 49\) is also a perfect square: \[ r^2 - 14r + 49 = (r - 7)^2 \] 4. Finally, we factor \(2r^2 + 13r + 21\) by looking for two numbers that multiply to \(2 \times 21 = 42\) and add to \(13\), which are \(6\) and \(7\): \[ 2r^2 + 13r + 21 = (2r + 7)(r + 3) \] Now substituting these factors back into the expression, we get: \[ \frac{(2r + 7)(r + 1)}{(r - 7)(r + 7)} \cdot \frac{(r - 7)^2}{(2r + 7)(r + 3)} \] Now we can cancel the common factors \(2r + 7\) and \(r - 7\): \[ = \frac{(r + 1)(r - 7)}{(r + 7)(r + 3)} \] Finally, so we simplified the expression, we can write the answer as: \[ \frac{(r + 1)(r - 7)}{(r + 7)(r + 3)} \] So the final answer is: \[ \frac{(r + 1)(r - 7)}{(r + 7)(r + 3)} \]