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The simplified rational expression is
.
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To simplify the rational expression
, we start by factoring both the numerator and the denominator.
The numerator
can be factored by looking for two numbers that multiply to
and add to
. Those numbers are
and
. Thus, the numerator factors to:
Now, for the denominator
, we can begin by factoring out a common factor of
:
Next, we need to factor the quadratic
. We look for two numbers that multiply to
and add to
. Those numbers are
and
. Thus, we can factor it as:
Putting it all together, the denominator becomes:
Now, substituting the factored forms back into the original expression, we get:
Now we can cancel the common factor
from the numerator and denominator, as long as
:
Thus, the simplified form of the rational expression is: