Expert: Abe Mantell - 7/25/2011

Question
To simplify an equation such as:

(X^-2+3)/(X-2)

Do you actually have to multiply both sides of the fraction by X^2 in order to remove the negative exponent?

Like this,

X^2(X^-2+3)= 1+3
X^2(X-2)= X^3 - 2X^2

so, 4/(X^3 - 2X^2)?

Answer
(X^-2+3)/(X-2) is not an equation, it is an algebraic expression
(an equation has an "equals" sign in it).

But yes, if you multiply the numerator by something, then you do likewise
to the denominator.

X^2*(X^-2+3)= 1+3x^2

so, you should get: (1+3x^2)/(x^3-2x^2)