alleryStart learning →Variables make excluded values harder to spot than in numerical fractions because you cannot simply:
AAdd the two fractions
BFactor the numerator out
CMultiply the two terms
DSee the denominator's value
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. See the denominator's value
1. The difficulty is one of visibility, not arithmetic.
2. Division by 0 is undefined in all cases.
3. With a numerical fraction it is easy to avoid dividing by zero.
4. That is because we can see the number in the denominator.
5. A variable denominator hides its value until an input is chosen.
_Source: OpenStax Elementary Algebra 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 8 'Rational Expressions and Equations', sections 8.1-8.9_
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