Question
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Find the difference quotient , where , for the function below.

Simplify your answer as much as possible.

Ask by Schneider Mckenzie. in the United States
Mar 17,2025

Upstudy AI Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The difference quotient simplifies to .

Solution

We are given
and we want to compute the difference quotient
with .
Step 1. Compute :
Step 2. Write the difference :
Step 3. Combine the fractions over a common denominator:
The common denominator is . Thus,
Step 4. Expand and simplify the numerator:
First, expand :
Next, expand :
Now, subtract the second expansion from the first:
Step 5. Write the expression for the difference quotient:
Substituting the simplified numerator back:
Simplify by dividing by (noting that ):
Thus, the simplified difference quotient is:

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Extra Insights

To find the difference quotient , we first need to compute .
Given , we have:
Now we can compute the difference quotient:
Let’s find a common denominator for the two fractions in the numerator:
The common denominator is . Thus, we rewrite the difference as follows:
This becomes:
Now, simplify the numerator:
  1. Expanding .
  2. Expanding .
Subtract from :
So our difference quotient now simplifies to:
This yields our final result:

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