Rational Expressions

Perlita B. De Castro
Math 8
College of Our Lady of Mercy of Pulilan Foundation, Inc.
S.Y. 2023-2024
Student's Prayer
 Dear Lord and Father of all,
Thank you for today.
Thank you for the ways in which you provide for us all.
For Your protection and love we thank you.
Help us to focus our hearts and minds now on what we are about to
learn.
Inspire us by Your Holy Spirit as we listen and write.
Guide us by your eternal light as we discover more about the world
around us.
We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Attendance
 Rational Expressions
Objectives:
The learners should be able to:
❖identify rational expressions
❖determine the restricted values of a rational
expression
❖illustrate rational algebraic expressions;
❖simplify rational algebraic expressions.
❏A rational algebraic expression, or
simply called a rational expression, is a
rational numbers with variables.

❏A rational expression is an expression

𝑷
of the form where P and Q are
𝑸
polynomials and Q ≠ 0.
 𝟐
𝒙 +𝟓 numerator
𝒙+𝟐 denominator

Other examples;
𝟑
𝒙 + 𝟐𝒙 − 𝟏 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟗 𝟏
𝟐
𝟔𝒙𝟐 𝟒
𝒙 −𝒙 𝟐 𝟐−𝒙𝟐 𝟐𝒙 + 𝟑
But NOT;

𝟐− 𝒙 The top is NOT a polynomial (a square

𝟒−𝒙 root of a variable is not allowed)

𝟏−𝒙 𝟏
is not allowed in a polynomial
𝟏 𝒙
𝟏−
𝒙
 Finding the Restricted Value for
Rational Expressions

❏A rational expression with zero in the

denominator is undefined.
 Finding the Restricted Value for
Rational Expressions
Steps in finding the restricted values of a rational expression:

1. Set the denominator equal to zero.

2. Solve the equation.
3. The solution or solutions are the restricted values.
 Finding the Restricted Value for
Rational Expressions
Example(s):
𝟓𝒙
1. For what value of x is undefined?
𝟐−𝒙

𝒚+𝟐
2. For what value of y is undefined?
𝒚+𝟕
 Finding the Restricted Value for
Rational Expressions
Example(s):
𝟗𝒏
3. For what value of n is undefined?
𝒏−𝟖

𝒏 + 𝟏𝟎
4. For what value of n is undefined?
𝟔𝒏 + 𝟏
Simplifying Rational Expressions

❏A rational expression is said to be in

lowest terms when its numerator and
denominator have no common factor
other than 1.
Steps in Simplifying Rational Expression

Factor the numerator and the

1
denominator.

2 Cancel out the common factor.

Copy the terms left in the

3
numerator and the denominator.
Examples
 1. Simplify

Solution:
Factor the numerator and the
1
denominator.
 1. Simplify

Solution:
2 Cancel out the common factor.
 1. Simplify

Solution:
Copy the terms left in the
3
numerator and the denominator.

Answer: The simplified form of is .

 2. Simplify

Solution:
Factor the numerator and the
1
denominator.
 2. Simplify

Solution:
2 Cancel out the common factor.
 2. Simplify

Solution:
Copy the terms left in the
3
numerator and the denominator.

Answer: The simplified form of is .

 3. Simplify

Solution:
Factor the numerator and the
1
denominator.
 3. Simplify

Solution:
2 Cancel out the common factor.
 3. Simplify

Solution:
Copy the terms left in the
3
numerator and the denominator.

Answer: The simplified form of is .

Key Takeaways
 Simplifying rational expressions is like
simplifying rational numbers. To do this,
factor the numerator and the denominator.
Cancel out the common factors. The terms
left in the numerator and denominator form
the simplified form of the given rational
expression.
Thought for the Week
“It is not how much we give, but how much love
we put into giving.”
- Mother Teresa