FEATURES

  • TOPICS: LINEAR EQUATIONS and QUADRATIC EQUATIONS
  • LEVEL: FORM 3
  • SOURCE: KCSE 2000 PAPER 1, QUESTION 2
  • MARKS: 3

SOLUTION

To simplify the expression \frac{3a^2 + 4ab + b^2}{4a^2 + 3ab - b^2}, we follow these steps:

Step 1: Factor the Numerator and Denominator

Numerator: 3a^2 + 4ab + b^2

We can rewrite it as:

    \[ 3a^2 + 4ab + b^2 = (3a + b)(a + b) \]

Denominator: 4a^2 + 3ab - b^2

We can rewrite it as:

    \[ 4a^2 + 3ab - b^2 = (4a - b)(a + b) \]

Step 2: Rewrite the Expression

Now we have:

    \[ \frac{(3a + b)(a + b)}{(4a - b)(a + b)} \]

Step 3: Cancel Common Factors

Canceling a + b gives us:

    \[ \frac{3a + b}{4a - b} \]

Final Result

The simplified form is:

    \[ \frac{3a + b}{4a - b} \]

RELATED POSTS