Precalculus (6th Edition) Blitzer

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-13446-914-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-13446-914-0

Chapter P - Section P.7 - Equations - Concept and Vocabulary Check - Page 105: 4

Answer

Fill the blanks with: lowest common denominator, 12

Work Step by Step

When solving a linear equation, we want to isolate the unknown (x) on one side. If it is entangled inside parentheses or part of a fraction, we perform actions to get x out of them. To get rid of a fraction, we multiply the equation with its denominator. To get rid of all fractions, we multiply the equation with the least common denominator (LCD) of all the fractions. The LCD is the lowest common multiple (LCM) of all the denominators. Here, we multiply with 12 because 12=LCM(3,4) Fill the blanks with: lowest common denominator, 12 Note: It doesn't have to be the lowest common denominator; any common multiple of the denominators will do, such as their product (although it leads to calculations with larger numbers.)
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