Simplify fully the following equation: X^2-2x-15/2x^2-9x-5

We first need to simplify both the numerator and denominator of this fraction seperately. Let's start with the numerator: x^2 -2x -15We need to find two numbers that add to make -2 and multiply to make -15. That would be -5 and +3. We then put these numbers into our two brackets: (x-5)(x+3). This would multiply out to give us x^2-2x-15Next let's take the denominator:2x^2-9x-5This time we need two numbers that add to give -9 and multiply to give -10 (2 x -5). That would be -10 and +1Let's write this out: 2x^2 - 10x +1x -5. The equation hasn't changed, we've just added another step in to help us simplify it now.2x is a factor of the first two elements of this equation, so we can take that out and rewrite it as:2x(x-5) +1x -5 We can now see that (x-5) is also a factor of that second section so we can rewrite that as: 2x(x-5) +1(x-5) Now we've found one of the brackets we can simplify the whole of the denominator to: (2x+1)(x-5) So our whole fraction now looks like this: (x-5)(x+3)/(2x+1)(x-5)Now we can cancel out the (x-5) because it appears in both the numerator and denominator, so the simplified equation is:(x+3)/(2x+1)

EP
Answered by Emilia P. Maths tutor

5578 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

The second term of an arithmetic sequence is 7. The sum of the first four terms of the arithmetic sequence is 12. Find the first term, a, and the common difference, d, of the sequence.


Solve the simultaneous equations equation 1: 2x+3y=4 and equation 2: 5x+6y=7


Write down the length of side "a"


The radius of a hemisphere and the radius of a cylinder are equal. The hemisphere and cylinder have equal volume. Calculate the ratio of the height of the cylinder and the radius of the cylinder.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning