Solving a Rational Equation that Simplifies to a Linear Equation :Type 3

Anytime you have an equation with fractions, you can simplify it to one without fractions by multiplying both sides by the LCD (Lowest Common Denominator)

Example:

  Multiplying both sides by the LCD of 6 gives

Simplifying gives

When the denominators are polynomials, the process is still the same, the LCD will just look a little more complicated.

Example:

    Factoring the first denominator gives

  from which we can see that the LCD is 3(x+2).

We multiply both sides of the equation by 3(x+2) to get