Practical Problem: How Long it Will Take to do Payroll
A work problem requires finding out how long it will take two workers with different work speeds to complete a task. The process of developing an equation and solving it are detailed.
Practical Problem: Calculate the Children's Dose of a Medication
Using a rational expression to solve a practical problem involving calculating the dose of a liquid medication for a child, given the adult dose and Young's rule.
Practical Problem: Finding the Amount of Electrical Current
Evaluating a rational expression to find out why a fuse keeps blowing out. Using the formula to find the total resistance of a parallel circuit.
Factoring Before Simplifying a Rational Expression
Examples of factoring before simplifying a rational expression are presented.
Practical Problem: Two Solutions for a Work Problem
A practical work problem that requires finding out how long it will take two workers with different work speeds to complete a task is solved using an equation with a rational expression. Two different approaches to finding the solution to this probl...
Practical Problem: Two solutions for a Pool Problem
A work problem is presented to determine how long it will take to fill a pool that has an open drain.
Factoring before Multiplying Rational Expressions
If a rational expression is more complicated, factoring before multiplying might be indicated.
Factoring a Denominator to Add Rational Expressions
The process of working with a rational expression that contains a quadratic trinomial in the denominator is illustrated.
Multiplying Rational Expressions
Demonstration of the procedure for multiplying rational expressions.
Practical Problem: Finding Average Speed
Complex fractions often appear in formulas used to solve problems. A practical problem involving the rate, time, and distance formula illustrates working with complex fractions.