SOLUTION: Simplify : y+2 over -y - 2 or y+2 divided by -y

SOLUTION: Simplify : y+2 over -y - 2 or y+2 divided by -y - 2 a)1 b)2 c)-1 d)-2

Question 316309: Simplify :
y+2 over -y - 2 or y+2 divided by -y - 2
a)1
b)2
c)-1
d)-2
Found 3 solutions by jim_thompson5910, moshiz08, nyc_function:
Answer by jim_thompson5910(35256)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Start with the given expression.

Factor the denominator

Highlight the common terms.

Cancel out the common terms.

Simplify.

Reduce.

So
Answer by moshiz08(60)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Let's look at the denominator . Since both terms are negative, we can factor out a -1 and rewrite this as . You can check this using the distributive property.
Now our fraction looks like this:
.
We can cancel the (y+2) factor in the numerator and denominator and we are left with
, so we get C.

By the way, the solution given by nycfunction is incorrect
First, the factoring is done wrong, as -1(y+2) = -y -2 is the correct way to do it following the distributive property. -1(y-2) = -y + 2, (not the +2 which resulted from -1 times -2), which is not what the question was asking for.
Second, the cancellation is wrong. If you have , you can't just cancel the x and say this equals which is 3. To see why this is wrong, consider the case when x = 1. Then we should get , NOT 3. Clearly, you can't cancel a part of a factor.
Answer by nyc_function(2741)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
Do you mean (y + 2)/(-y - 2)?
If so, then factor our -1.
-1[(y + 2)/(y - 2)] =
Both y letters cancel out leaving us with -1(2/-2).
Then -1(2/-2) = -1(-1) = 1.
Choice (a) is the answer.
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