How do people come up with solutions like this?












2














I was going through some problems in high school textbook and stumbled on this problem.
I could be trying to solve it whole day and I wouldn't solve it. The solution seems to be too complicated for high school student (I marked the part red I can't understand). Can you explain how do you go about solving this problem and what is going through your mind when doing so?



enter image description here










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  • 2




    What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
    – Will M.
    Jan 4 at 17:11






  • 1




    In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
    – tch
    Jan 4 at 17:12






  • 3




    The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
    – Don Thousand
    Jan 4 at 17:17






  • 1




    In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
    – JMoravitz
    Jan 4 at 17:50
















2














I was going through some problems in high school textbook and stumbled on this problem.
I could be trying to solve it whole day and I wouldn't solve it. The solution seems to be too complicated for high school student (I marked the part red I can't understand). Can you explain how do you go about solving this problem and what is going through your mind when doing so?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




ToTheSpace 2 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
















  • 2




    What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
    – Will M.
    Jan 4 at 17:11






  • 1




    In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
    – tch
    Jan 4 at 17:12






  • 3




    The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
    – Don Thousand
    Jan 4 at 17:17






  • 1




    In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
    – JMoravitz
    Jan 4 at 17:50














2












2








2







I was going through some problems in high school textbook and stumbled on this problem.
I could be trying to solve it whole day and I wouldn't solve it. The solution seems to be too complicated for high school student (I marked the part red I can't understand). Can you explain how do you go about solving this problem and what is going through your mind when doing so?



enter image description here










share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




ToTheSpace 2 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











I was going through some problems in high school textbook and stumbled on this problem.
I could be trying to solve it whole day and I wouldn't solve it. The solution seems to be too complicated for high school student (I marked the part red I can't understand). Can you explain how do you go about solving this problem and what is going through your mind when doing so?



enter image description here







algebra-precalculus






share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




ToTheSpace 2 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




ToTheSpace 2 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Jan 4 at 18:02









Bill Dubuque

209k29190631




209k29190631






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asked Jan 4 at 17:09









ToTheSpace 2ToTheSpace 2

161




161




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New contributor





ToTheSpace 2 is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






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Check out our Code of Conduct.








  • 2




    What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
    – Will M.
    Jan 4 at 17:11






  • 1




    In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
    – tch
    Jan 4 at 17:12






  • 3




    The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
    – Don Thousand
    Jan 4 at 17:17






  • 1




    In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
    – JMoravitz
    Jan 4 at 17:50














  • 2




    What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
    – Will M.
    Jan 4 at 17:11






  • 1




    In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
    – tch
    Jan 4 at 17:12






  • 3




    The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
    – Don Thousand
    Jan 4 at 17:17






  • 1




    In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
    – JMoravitz
    Jan 4 at 17:50








2




2




What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
– Will M.
Jan 4 at 17:11




What is the problem? To simplify? If it is to simplify, it is simply a lot of practise. That step is not really necessary, but sure it worked.
– Will M.
Jan 4 at 17:11




1




1




In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
– tch
Jan 4 at 17:12




In the red box, they have pulled out factors from the numerator and denominator. If you distribute them back in, you will see that they cancel off and you get the top equation.
– tch
Jan 4 at 17:12




3




3




The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
– Don Thousand
Jan 4 at 17:17




The more you solve problems, the more you start to recognize common techniques. I can assure you, that feeling of, how did someone ever think of that?, keeps repeating itself no matter how deep in mathematics you get.
– Don Thousand
Jan 4 at 17:17




1




1




In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
– JMoravitz
Jan 4 at 17:50




In traveling from point $A$ to point $B$ it sometimes takes a bit of creativity. Sometimes there is a mountain in your way. You might try looking for ways to go over the mountain, or maybe around it, or through a tunnel. You might come across a river and you try to find a bridge or find a part of the river shallow enough to wade across. In the end, you look at your goal and you keep in mind ways that you can overcome obstacles in your path. The same is true for mathematics. You have an end goal in sight (even if it is blurry) and you use techniques you've learned to approach that goal.
– JMoravitz
Jan 4 at 17:50










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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3














One problem comprehending such arguments is inessential information is obfuscating the algebra, e.g. the fractional exponents. They have a common denominator of $3$ so writing $,x = a^{1/3}, y = b^{1/3}$ simplifies it, making the steps much clearer, namely



$$dfrac{-2x^3y^4 + 2 x^5y^2}{x^6y^4 - y^6 x^4} = dfrac{2x^3y^2 (color{#c00}{-y^2+x^2})}{x^4 y^4, ( color{#c00}{x^2,-,y^2})} = dfrac{2}{xy^2} = dfrac{2}{a^{1/3}b^{2/3}} $$






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 18:59



















0














Through practice, you become more familiar with various techniques which you can use to make simplification easier and faster.



The previous answer provides a clever substitution which simplifies the problem greatly, but you can solve the question rather easily even without it. In the example, you have



$$frac{-2ab^{frac{4}{3}}+2a^{frac{5}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}}}$$



In order to understand the steps given for the solution, you can break the problem down into two parts. Focusing on the numerator first, you can rewrite it as



$$-2abb^{frac{1}{3}}+2aa^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$$



because we have $a^{b+c} = a^ba^c$, so, for instance $b^{frac{4}{3}} = b^{1+frac{1}{3}} = bb^{frac{1}{3}}$. Using this technique again, you can split $b$ into $b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$, so you get



$$-color{blue}{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{1}{3}}+color{blue}{2a}a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



Notice how both sides share common factors. You have $ab+ac = a(b+c)$, so the expression can once more be rewritten as



$$2ab^{frac{2}{3}}left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{1}$$



In fact, in the picture you’ve given, the simplification wasn’t immediately made. Rather, all the steps were shown, as in $ab+ac = aleft(frac{ab}{a}+frac{ac}{a}right)$ rather than immediately $ab+ac = a(b+c)$.



Repeat the same process for the denominator (rewriting and factoring):



$$a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}} = a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{4}{3}}a^{frac{4}{3}}} = a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{2}$$



Putting it all together, you reach



$$frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right)}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}color{blue}{left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right)}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{aa^{frac{1}{2}}b^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}} = frac{2}{a^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



As you can see, there really was nothing apart from manipulating the exponents and factoring. At first, this might seem long, tricky, and time-consuming. You need some practice in order to see these ideas and patterns quickly, and you’ll eventually solve these problems very quickly.






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 19:01











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2 Answers
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active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3














One problem comprehending such arguments is inessential information is obfuscating the algebra, e.g. the fractional exponents. They have a common denominator of $3$ so writing $,x = a^{1/3}, y = b^{1/3}$ simplifies it, making the steps much clearer, namely



$$dfrac{-2x^3y^4 + 2 x^5y^2}{x^6y^4 - y^6 x^4} = dfrac{2x^3y^2 (color{#c00}{-y^2+x^2})}{x^4 y^4, ( color{#c00}{x^2,-,y^2})} = dfrac{2}{xy^2} = dfrac{2}{a^{1/3}b^{2/3}} $$






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 18:59
















3














One problem comprehending such arguments is inessential information is obfuscating the algebra, e.g. the fractional exponents. They have a common denominator of $3$ so writing $,x = a^{1/3}, y = b^{1/3}$ simplifies it, making the steps much clearer, namely



$$dfrac{-2x^3y^4 + 2 x^5y^2}{x^6y^4 - y^6 x^4} = dfrac{2x^3y^2 (color{#c00}{-y^2+x^2})}{x^4 y^4, ( color{#c00}{x^2,-,y^2})} = dfrac{2}{xy^2} = dfrac{2}{a^{1/3}b^{2/3}} $$






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 18:59














3












3








3






One problem comprehending such arguments is inessential information is obfuscating the algebra, e.g. the fractional exponents. They have a common denominator of $3$ so writing $,x = a^{1/3}, y = b^{1/3}$ simplifies it, making the steps much clearer, namely



$$dfrac{-2x^3y^4 + 2 x^5y^2}{x^6y^4 - y^6 x^4} = dfrac{2x^3y^2 (color{#c00}{-y^2+x^2})}{x^4 y^4, ( color{#c00}{x^2,-,y^2})} = dfrac{2}{xy^2} = dfrac{2}{a^{1/3}b^{2/3}} $$






share|cite|improve this answer














One problem comprehending such arguments is inessential information is obfuscating the algebra, e.g. the fractional exponents. They have a common denominator of $3$ so writing $,x = a^{1/3}, y = b^{1/3}$ simplifies it, making the steps much clearer, namely



$$dfrac{-2x^3y^4 + 2 x^5y^2}{x^6y^4 - y^6 x^4} = dfrac{2x^3y^2 (color{#c00}{-y^2+x^2})}{x^4 y^4, ( color{#c00}{x^2,-,y^2})} = dfrac{2}{xy^2} = dfrac{2}{a^{1/3}b^{2/3}} $$







share|cite|improve this answer














share|cite|improve this answer



share|cite|improve this answer








edited Jan 4 at 17:58

























answered Jan 4 at 17:53









Bill DubuqueBill Dubuque

209k29190631




209k29190631












  • Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 18:59


















  • Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 18:59
















Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
– ToTheSpace 2
Jan 5 at 18:59




Thanks for your answer! This actually makes the solution a little bit easier to comprehend.
– ToTheSpace 2
Jan 5 at 18:59











0














Through practice, you become more familiar with various techniques which you can use to make simplification easier and faster.



The previous answer provides a clever substitution which simplifies the problem greatly, but you can solve the question rather easily even without it. In the example, you have



$$frac{-2ab^{frac{4}{3}}+2a^{frac{5}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}}}$$



In order to understand the steps given for the solution, you can break the problem down into two parts. Focusing on the numerator first, you can rewrite it as



$$-2abb^{frac{1}{3}}+2aa^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$$



because we have $a^{b+c} = a^ba^c$, so, for instance $b^{frac{4}{3}} = b^{1+frac{1}{3}} = bb^{frac{1}{3}}$. Using this technique again, you can split $b$ into $b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$, so you get



$$-color{blue}{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{1}{3}}+color{blue}{2a}a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



Notice how both sides share common factors. You have $ab+ac = a(b+c)$, so the expression can once more be rewritten as



$$2ab^{frac{2}{3}}left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{1}$$



In fact, in the picture you’ve given, the simplification wasn’t immediately made. Rather, all the steps were shown, as in $ab+ac = aleft(frac{ab}{a}+frac{ac}{a}right)$ rather than immediately $ab+ac = a(b+c)$.



Repeat the same process for the denominator (rewriting and factoring):



$$a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}} = a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{4}{3}}a^{frac{4}{3}}} = a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{2}$$



Putting it all together, you reach



$$frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right)}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}color{blue}{left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right)}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{aa^{frac{1}{2}}b^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}} = frac{2}{a^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



As you can see, there really was nothing apart from manipulating the exponents and factoring. At first, this might seem long, tricky, and time-consuming. You need some practice in order to see these ideas and patterns quickly, and you’ll eventually solve these problems very quickly.






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 19:01
















0














Through practice, you become more familiar with various techniques which you can use to make simplification easier and faster.



The previous answer provides a clever substitution which simplifies the problem greatly, but you can solve the question rather easily even without it. In the example, you have



$$frac{-2ab^{frac{4}{3}}+2a^{frac{5}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}}}$$



In order to understand the steps given for the solution, you can break the problem down into two parts. Focusing on the numerator first, you can rewrite it as



$$-2abb^{frac{1}{3}}+2aa^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$$



because we have $a^{b+c} = a^ba^c$, so, for instance $b^{frac{4}{3}} = b^{1+frac{1}{3}} = bb^{frac{1}{3}}$. Using this technique again, you can split $b$ into $b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$, so you get



$$-color{blue}{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{1}{3}}+color{blue}{2a}a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



Notice how both sides share common factors. You have $ab+ac = a(b+c)$, so the expression can once more be rewritten as



$$2ab^{frac{2}{3}}left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{1}$$



In fact, in the picture you’ve given, the simplification wasn’t immediately made. Rather, all the steps were shown, as in $ab+ac = aleft(frac{ab}{a}+frac{ac}{a}right)$ rather than immediately $ab+ac = a(b+c)$.



Repeat the same process for the denominator (rewriting and factoring):



$$a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}} = a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{4}{3}}a^{frac{4}{3}}} = a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{2}$$



Putting it all together, you reach



$$frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right)}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}color{blue}{left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right)}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{aa^{frac{1}{2}}b^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}} = frac{2}{a^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



As you can see, there really was nothing apart from manipulating the exponents and factoring. At first, this might seem long, tricky, and time-consuming. You need some practice in order to see these ideas and patterns quickly, and you’ll eventually solve these problems very quickly.






share|cite|improve this answer























  • Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 19:01














0












0








0






Through practice, you become more familiar with various techniques which you can use to make simplification easier and faster.



The previous answer provides a clever substitution which simplifies the problem greatly, but you can solve the question rather easily even without it. In the example, you have



$$frac{-2ab^{frac{4}{3}}+2a^{frac{5}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}}}$$



In order to understand the steps given for the solution, you can break the problem down into two parts. Focusing on the numerator first, you can rewrite it as



$$-2abb^{frac{1}{3}}+2aa^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$$



because we have $a^{b+c} = a^ba^c$, so, for instance $b^{frac{4}{3}} = b^{1+frac{1}{3}} = bb^{frac{1}{3}}$. Using this technique again, you can split $b$ into $b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$, so you get



$$-color{blue}{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{1}{3}}+color{blue}{2a}a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



Notice how both sides share common factors. You have $ab+ac = a(b+c)$, so the expression can once more be rewritten as



$$2ab^{frac{2}{3}}left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{1}$$



In fact, in the picture you’ve given, the simplification wasn’t immediately made. Rather, all the steps were shown, as in $ab+ac = aleft(frac{ab}{a}+frac{ac}{a}right)$ rather than immediately $ab+ac = a(b+c)$.



Repeat the same process for the denominator (rewriting and factoring):



$$a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}} = a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{4}{3}}a^{frac{4}{3}}} = a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{2}$$



Putting it all together, you reach



$$frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right)}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}color{blue}{left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right)}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{aa^{frac{1}{2}}b^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}} = frac{2}{a^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



As you can see, there really was nothing apart from manipulating the exponents and factoring. At first, this might seem long, tricky, and time-consuming. You need some practice in order to see these ideas and patterns quickly, and you’ll eventually solve these problems very quickly.






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Through practice, you become more familiar with various techniques which you can use to make simplification easier and faster.



The previous answer provides a clever substitution which simplifies the problem greatly, but you can solve the question rather easily even without it. In the example, you have



$$frac{-2ab^{frac{4}{3}}+2a^{frac{5}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}}}$$



In order to understand the steps given for the solution, you can break the problem down into two parts. Focusing on the numerator first, you can rewrite it as



$$-2abb^{frac{1}{3}}+2aa^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$$



because we have $a^{b+c} = a^ba^c$, so, for instance $b^{frac{4}{3}} = b^{1+frac{1}{3}} = bb^{frac{1}{3}}$. Using this technique again, you can split $b$ into $b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}$, so you get



$$-color{blue}{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}b^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{1}{3}}+color{blue}{2a}a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



Notice how both sides share common factors. You have $ab+ac = a(b+c)$, so the expression can once more be rewritten as



$$2ab^{frac{2}{3}}left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{1}$$



In fact, in the picture you’ve given, the simplification wasn’t immediately made. Rather, all the steps were shown, as in $ab+ac = aleft(frac{ab}{a}+frac{ac}{a}right)$ rather than immediately $ab+ac = a(b+c)$.



Repeat the same process for the denominator (rewriting and factoring):



$$a^2b^{frac{4}{3}}-b^2a^{frac{4}{3}} = a^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{b^{frac{4}{3}}a^{frac{4}{3}}} = a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right) tag{2}$$



Putting it all together, you reach



$$frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}color{blue}{left(-b^{frac{2}{3}}+a^{frac{2}{3}}right)}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}color{blue}{left(a^{frac{2}{3}}-b^{frac{2}{3}}right)}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{a^{frac{4}{3}}b^{frac{4}{3}}} = frac{2ab^{frac{2}{3}}}{aa^{frac{1}{2}}b^{frac{2}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}} = frac{2}{a^{frac{1}{3}}b^{frac{2}{3}}}$$



As you can see, there really was nothing apart from manipulating the exponents and factoring. At first, this might seem long, tricky, and time-consuming. You need some practice in order to see these ideas and patterns quickly, and you’ll eventually solve these problems very quickly.







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edited Jan 4 at 19:05

























answered Jan 4 at 18:45









KM101KM101

5,7311423




5,7311423












  • Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 19:01


















  • Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
    – ToTheSpace 2
    Jan 5 at 19:01
















Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
– ToTheSpace 2
Jan 5 at 19:01




Thank you for the answer. It really takes a creative mind to work this out and as you say, much practice.
– ToTheSpace 2
Jan 5 at 19:01










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