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4 Answers
- 1 year agoFavorite Answer
If a solution gives us a fraction with a denominator of 0, then that solution is extraneous
x / (x + 2) = 5 / (x - 4)
Cross-multiply
x * (x - 4) = 5 * (x + 2)
x^2 - 4x = 5x + 10
x^2 - 9x - 10 = 0
x = (9 +/- sqrt(81 + 40)) / 2
x = (9 +/- sqrt(121)) / 2
x = (9 +/- 11) / 2
x = 20/2 , -2/2
x = 10 , -1
x = 10 and x = -1 are the solutions to our problem. Let's find possible exceptions by letting the denominators of each fraction equal 0
x + 2 = 0
x = -2
x - 4 = 0
x = 4
Extraneous solutions would be x = -2 and x = 4
Since x = -2 and x = 4 are not part of our solution set, then there are no extraneous solutions
x = -1 , 10
Test them in the original problem
x / (x + 2) = 5 / (x - 4)
-1 / (-1 + 2) = 5 / (-1 - 4)
-1 / (1) = 5 / (-5)
-1 = -1
10 / (10 + 2) = 5 / (10 - 4)
10 / 12 = 5 / 6
5/6 = 5/6
Both solutions work out, so there are no extraneous solutions at all.
- ?Lv 71 year ago
Solve the equation x/(x + 2) = 5/(x - 4)
x(x - 4) = 5(x + 2)
x^2 - 9x - 10 = 0
(x + 1)(x - 10) = 0
Solutions:
a) There are no extraneous solutions
c) x = 10
d) x = -1
- Anonymous1 year ago
Simply substitute the answers into the equation and check
4 / (4 + 2) = 5 / (4 - 4). Does the LHS equal the RHS? If not, it's not an answer.
Check the next and so on.
- llafferLv 71 year ago
Your equation:
x / (x + 2) = 5 / (x - 4)
First, we see that x cannot be -2 or 4 to prevent dividing by zero.
Next, multiply both sides by the LCD to get rid of the fractions:
x(x - 4) = 5(x + 2)
x² - 4x = 5x + 10
x² - 9x - 10 = 0
(x - 10)(x + 1) = 0
x = -1 and 10
These aren't in our "divide by zero" checks, so we have two values for x so far. Test them against the original equation to see if any are extraneous:
x / (x + 2) = 5 / (x - 4)
-1 / (-1 + 2) = 5 / (-1 - 4) and 10 / (10 + 2) = 5 / (10 - 4)
-1 / 1 = 5 / (-5) and 10 / 12 = 5 / 6
-1 = -1 and 5 / 6 = 5 / 6
TRUE and TRUE
Both solutions check out so there are no extraneous solutions.
-2 and 4 would only count as extraneous if the solution to the quadratic contained these values.