I think most of us would agree that multiplying tends to be easier than dividing.
Jenn, Founder Calcworkshop®, 15+ Years Experience (Licensed & Certified Teacher)
Thankfully, we can quickly switch from division to multiplication as long as we multiply by the reciprocal!
So the first step in dividing rational expressions is to know the division rule for fractions.
Namely, changing the operation from division to multiplication by multiplying by the reciprocal!
But be careful!
You only flip the fraction that comes after the division sign! In other words, you “flip-n-multiply” as Purple Math so nicely states.
How to Divide Algebraic Fractions
And then, all you have to do is follow the steps for Multiplying Rational Expressions and reduce the fraction to lowest terms by:
- Multiplying across
- Factoring
- Canceling like factors
Together we are going to look at 17 questions, in detail, where we are going to divide algebraic fractions by using all of our factoring know-how and express the rational function in lowest terms.
Dividing Fractions (How-To) – Video
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