I am really stumped as to how it simplifies. I should know this, but it has been a very, very, long summer.
how does this simplify?
5
$\begingroup$
algebra-precalculus
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7Have you tried dividing the numerator and denominator by $2$? – 2012-09-02
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4I am a bit sad that Austin has edited this post. I only upvoted it because the original rendering of the formula was so amusing. – 2012-09-02
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13It looked rather like it was written in lipstick on a white T-shirt. Were you expecting it to simplify down to give some woman's phone number? – 2012-09-02
1 Answers
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Pull out a factor of $2$ and cancel:
$$ \begin{align*} \frac{4-2\sqrt{2}}{4} &= \frac{2(2 - \sqrt{2})}{2 \cdot 2}\\ &= \frac{2}{2}\cdot \frac{2-\sqrt{2}}{2}\\ &= 1 \cdot \frac{2-\sqrt{2}}{2}\\ &= \frac{2-\sqrt{2}}{2} \end{align*} $$
Notice we didn't do anything special with the $\sqrt{2}$; it may as well have just been an $x$.
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0Hey thanks a lot. – 2012-09-02