When adding or subtracting two fractions with denominators that are not equal, what is the first step you take?

what would you do if you didn’t know what the values of the denominators were, such as when there are variables in the denominators? for example, what denominator would you use if you were adding 1/a and 1/b ? how would your new denominator affect the numerators?

can you come up with denominators that contain variables and aren’t equal that would require you to change only one denominator? explain.

For the first question, the first step to take when adding or subtracting two fractions with denominators that are not equal is to determine their least common denominator (LCD). This is the lowest number that is a multiple of both denominators.

For the second question, if only variables are given, you can simply multiply the two variables to obtain the LCD. However, take note that you should multiply the numerator and the denominator with the variable that would result to the same LCD for both terms. For example,

(1/a)*(b/b) + (1/b)(a/a) = (b/ab) + (a/ab) = (a + b)/ab

a) $ 9.50

b) 17

c) y-intercept (0, 12). this is the initial amount of money that joe had prior to playing any game.

d) x-intercept ( 24, 0). this is the number of games that joe will play before he depletes the initial amount of money that he had.

e) slope is -0.5. joe's balance will reduce by 0.5 for every game that he plays.

f)

domain; [0,24]

range; [0,12]

g) x + 2y = 24

step-by-step explanation:

a)

if joe plays 5 games, this will imply that x = 5. substitute x = 5 in the equation and solve for y;

y = -.50x + 12

y = -0.50(5) + 12

y = 9.50

b)

if joe leaves the arcade with $3.50, this will mean that y = 3.50. plug in y = 3.50 in the given equation and solve for x;

y = -.50x + 12

3.50 = -0.50x + 12

0.50x = 12 - 3.50

0.5x = 8.5

x = 17

c)

the function given is   y = -.50x + 12.

the y-intercept is the point where the graph of this function will intersect the y-axis. at this point, the value of x is usually 0. plug in x = 0 in the given equation and determine y;

y = -0.50(0) + 12

y = 12

the y-intercept is thus (0, 12). this is the initial amount of money that joe had prior to playing any game.

d)

the x-intercept refers to the point where the graph of a function intersects with the x-axis. at this point, the value of y is 0. substitute y = 0 in the given equation and solve for x;

0 =   -.50x + 12

0.5x = 12

x = 24

x-intercept ( 24, 0). this is the number of games that joe will play before he depletes the initial amount of money that he had.

e)

the slope of the given equation is -0.5. the equation has been given in slope-intercept form. thus the slope is simply the coefficient of x.

joe's balance will reduce by 0.5 for every game that he plays. this is the interpretation of the slope.

f)

domain is the set of x values for which the function is real and defined. the domain will thus be; [0,24]. this will restrict the balance to only assume positive values.

on the other hand, the range is the set of y values for which a function is real and defined. the range in our case will be [0,12]. joe can have between $0 and $12 balance.

g)

the standard form of the equation of a straight line is;

ax + by = c

where a, b, and c are integers.

our equation is given as;

y = -.50x + 12

re-writing the equation we have;

0.5x + y = 12

divide all through by 0.5;

x + 2y = 24