PARTIAL FRACTIONS

1. Partial fraction decomposition is an important tool that helps us solve complicated fractions. It is really useful in
integral calculus.
2 3 5x − 4
2. Consider the example, + = 2 . The rational expressions in LHS can be simply added to
x−2 x+1 x −x−2
get RHS. But, to go the other way around, we must decompose and find the parts that make up a single fraction.

3. The steps to decompose a single fraction is as follows:

a. First, we factor the denominator:

5x − 4 5x − 4
=
x2 −x−2 (x − 2)(x + 1)
b. Now, we write a partial fraction for each denominator:
5x − 4 A B
= +
(x − 2)(x + 1) (x − 2) (x + 1)
c. Cross multiply to eliminate the denominator:
5x − 4 = A(x − 1) + B(x − 2)
d. Find the constants:
A = 2 and B = 3
5x − 4 2 3
e. Answer: = +
x2 − x − 2 x−2 x+1
4. This method only works on proper rational expressions, that is, the degree of the numerator is less than the
degree of the denominator.

5. General form and form of partial fraction (Only for proper rational expressions):
px + q A B
a. Type 1: = +
(x + a)(x + b) x+a x+b
px + q A Bx + C
b. Type 2: 2
= + 2
(x + a)(x + b) x+a x +b
px + q A B C
c. Type 3: 2
= + +
(x + a)(x + b) x + a x + b (x + b)2

PARTIAL FRACTIONS 1