te-the-result-as-1-3-4-is-their-cancellation-valid-choose-the-best-justification

Question

A student attempts to simplify the expression (x+2)+3x+2\displaystyle\frac{(x + 2) + 3}{x + 2} by canceling the (x+2)(x + 2) terms to get 1+3=41 + 3 = 4. Is this simplification valid?

Accepted Answer

No; cancellation is only valid for factors in a product, not for terms within a sum.

Answer

Yes; any identical expression found in both the numerator and denominator can be canceled.

Answer

No; the cancellation is invalid because xx must be a positive integer for this rule to apply.

Answer

Yes; the student correctly applied the additive identity property to simplify the fraction.

A student attempts to simplify the expression (x+2)+3x+2\(\displaystyle\]\frac{(x + 2) + 3}{x + 2}\) by canceling the (x+2)(x + 2) terms to get 1+3=41 + 3 = 4. Is this simplification valid?

A student attempts to simplify the expression $\frac{(x + 2) + 3}{x + 2}$ by canceling the $open paren x plus 2 close paren$ terms to get $1 + 3 = 4$ . Is this simplification valid?