Study GuideAlgebra II–RaƟonal Expressions1. Examples of RaƟonal ExpressionsArational expressionis simply another way of writing afraction. Just like regular fractions, itrepresentsdivision.In a fraction, thenumerator(top part) is divided by thedenominator(bottom part).For example:meansa divided by b.Rational Expressions with PolynomialsIn algebra, rational expressions often containpolynomialsin the numerator, the denominator, orboth.This can make them look more complicated than regular fractions, but the main idea is still the same:one expression is being divided by another.Sometimes the numerator or denominator maycontainmore complex algebraic expressions, which requires extra steps to simplify.Definition of a Rational ExpressionArational expressionis thequotient (division) of two polynomials.It has the form:where:•(P(x)) is a polynomial (numerator)•(Q(x)) is a polynomial (denominator)•(Q(x)≠0)The denominatorcannot be zero, because division by zero is undefined.Preview Mode
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