College Algebra

Preface
Here are the solutions to the practice problems for my Calculus I notes. Some solutions will have more or less detail than other solutions. The level of detail in each solution will depend up on several issues. If the section is a review section, this mostly applies to problems in the first chapter, there will probably not be as much detail to the solutions given that the problems really should be review. As the difficulty level of the problems increases less detail will go into the basics of the solution under the assumption that if youve reached the level of working the harder problems then you will probably already understand the basics fairly well and wont need all the explanation. This document was written with presentation on the web in mind. On the web most solutions are broken down into steps and many of the steps have hints. Each hint on the web is given as a popup however in this document they are listed prior to each step. Also, on the web each step can be viewed individually by clicking on links while in this document they are all showing. Also, there are liable to be some formatting parts in this document intended for help in generating the web pages that havent been removed here. These issues may make the solutions a little difficult to follow at times, but they should still be readable.

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College Algebra

Partial Fractions
1. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

17 x 53 x 2 x 15
2

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. However, in order to do that we first need to factor the denominator as much as possible. Doing this gives,

17 x 53 ( x 5)( x + 3)
Okay, we can now see that the partial fraction decomposition is,

17 x 53 A B = + x 2 x 15 x 5 x + 3
2

Step 2

The LCD for this expression is ( x 5 )( x + 3) . Adding the two terms back up gives,
A ( x + 3) + B ( x 5 ) 17 x 53 = x 2 x 15 ( x 5)( x + 3)
2

Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

17 x 53= A ( x + 3) + B ( x 5 )
Step 4 Now all we need to do is pick good values of x to determine the constants. Here is that work.

= x 5= : 32 8 A x= 3 : 104 = 8 B
Step 5 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

= A 4 B= 13

17 x 53 4 13 = + x 2 x 15 x 5 x + 3
2

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College Algebra

2. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

34 12 x 3 x 2 10 x 8
Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. However, in order to do that we first need to factor the denominator as much as possible. Doing this gives,

34 12 x ( 3x + 2 )( x 4 )
Okay, we can now see that the partial fraction decomposition is,

34 12 x A B = + 2 3 x 10 x 8 3 x + 2 x 4
Step 2

The LCD for this expression is ( 3 x + 2 )( x 4 ) . Adding the two terms back up gives,
A ( x 4 ) + B ( 3x + 2 ) 34 12 x = 2 3 x 10 x 8 ( 3x + 2 )( x 4 )
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

34 12 x= A ( x 4 ) + B ( 3 x + 2 )
Step 4 Now all we need to do is pick good values of x to determine the constants. Here is that work.

= x 4: = 14 14 B x= 2 42 = 14 3 : 3 A
Step 5 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

A = 9 B = 1

34 12 x 9 1 = 2 3 x 10 x 8 3x + 2 x 4

3. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

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College Algebra

125 + 4 x 9 x 2 ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 )

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

125 + 4 x 9 x 2 A B C = + + ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 ) x 1 x + 3 x + 4

Step 2

The LCD for this expression is ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 ) . Adding the terms back up gives,
A ( x + 3)( x + 4 ) + B ( x 1)( x + 4 ) + C ( x 1)( x + 3) 125 + 4 x 9 x 2 = ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 ) ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 )
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

125 + 4 x 9 x 2= A ( x + 3)( x + 4 ) + B ( x 1)( x + 4 ) + C ( x 1)( x + 3)

Step 4 Now all we need to do is pick good values of x to determine the constants. Here is that work.

5C x= 4 : 35 = 32 = x= 3 : 4 B x = 1: 120 = 20 A

6 A= B= 8 C = 7

Step 5 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

125 + 4 x 9 x 2 6 8 7 = ( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 ) x 1 x + 3 x + 4

4. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

10 x + 35

( x + 4)
Step 1

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College Algebra

The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

10 x + 35 A B = + 2 2 ( x + 4) x + 4 ( x + 4)
Step 2

The LCD for this expression is ( x + 4 ) . Adding the terms back up gives,
2

10 x + 35

( x + 4)
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

A ( x + 4) + B

( x + 4)

10 x + 35= A ( x + 4 ) + B
Step 4 For this problem we can pick a good value of x to determine only one of the constants. Here is that work.

x= 4 :

5 = B

B= 5

Step 5 To get the remaining constant we can use any value of x and plug that along with the value of B we found in the previous step into the equation from Step 3. It really doesnt matter what value of x we pick as long as it isnt x = 4 since we used that in the previous step. The idea here is to pick a value of x that wont create large or messy numbers, if possible. Good choices are often x = 0 or x = 1 , provided they werent used in the previous step of course. For this problem x = 0 seems to be a good choice. Here is the work for this step.

10 ( 0 ) + 35 = A ( 0 + 4 ) + ( 5 ) 35 = 4A 5 40 = 4A
Step 6 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

A = 10

10 x + 35 10 5 = 2 2 ( x + 4) x + 4 ( x + 4)

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College Algebra

5. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

6x + 5

( 2 x 1)

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

6x + 5 A B = + 2 2 ( 2 x 1) 2 x 1 ( 2 x 1)
Step 2

The LCD for this expression is ( 2 x 1) . Adding the terms back up gives,
2

6x + 5

( 2 x 1)
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

A ( 2 x 1) + B

( 2 x 1)

6x + = 5 A ( 2 x 1) + B
Step 4 For this problem we can pick a good value of x to determine only one of the constants. Here is that work.

1 x =: 2

8= B

B= 8

Step 5 To get the remaining constant we can use any value of x and plug that along with the value of B we found in the previous step into the equation from Step 3. It really doesnt matter what value of x we pick as long as it isnt x = 1 2 since we used that in the previous step. The idea here is to pick a value of x that wont create large or messy numbers, if possible. Good choices are often x = 0 or x = 1 , provided they werent used in the previous step of course. For this problem x = 0 seems to be a good choice. Here is the work for this step.

2007 Paul Dawkins

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College Algebra

6 ( 0= ) + 5 A ( 2 ( 0 ) 1) + 8 5= A+8 3 = A
Step 6 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

A= 3

6x + 5 3 8 = + 2 2 ( 2 x 1) 2 x 1 ( 2 x 1)

6. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

7 x 2 17 x + 38

( x + 6 )( x 1)

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

7 x 2 17 x + 38

( x + 6 )( x 1)
Step 2

A B C + + x + 6 x 1 ( x 1)2

The LCD for this expression is ( x + 6 )( x 1) . Adding the terms back up gives,
2

7 x 2 17 x + 38

( x + 6 )( x 1)
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

A ( x 1) + B ( x + 6 )( x 1) + C ( x + 6 )
2

( x + 6 )( x 1)

= A ( x 1) + B ( x + 6 )( x 1) + C ( x + 6 ) 7 x 2 17 x + 38
2

Step 4 For this problem we can pick good values of x to determine only two of the three constants. Here is that work.

2 x= 6 : A= 8 392 = A ( 7 ) = 49 A x 1: = C 4 28 = 7C

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College Algebra

Step 5 To get the remaining constant we can use any value of x and plug that along with the values of A and C we found in the previous step into the equation from Step 3. It really doesnt matter what value of x we pick as long as it isnt x = 6 or x = 1 since we used those in the previous step. The idea here is to pick a value of x that wont create large or messy numbers, if possible. Good choices are often x = 0 or x = 1 (which we cant use for this problem as noted above), provided they werent used in the previous step of course. For this problem x = 0 seems to be a good choice. Here is the work for this step.

= 38

(8)( 1)

+ B ( 6 )( 1) + ( 4 )( 6 ) 1 B=

= 32 6 B 38 6 B 6=
Step 6 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

7 x 2 17 x + 38

( x + 6 )( x 1)

8 1 4 + x + 6 x 1 ( x 1)2

7. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

4 x 2 22 x + 7

( 2 x + 3)( x 2 )

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

4 x 2 22 x + 7

( 2 x + 3)( x 2 )
Step 2

A B C + + 2 x + 3 x 2 ( x 2 )2

The LCD for this expression is ( 2 x + 3)( x 2 ) . Adding the terms back up gives,
2

4 x 2 22 x + 7

( 2 x + 3)( x 2 )
Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,
2007 Paul Dawkins

A ( x 2 ) + B ( 2 x + 3)( x 2 ) + C ( 2 x + 3)
2

( 2 x + 3)( x 2 )

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College Algebra

4 x 2 22 x + 7 = A ( x 2 ) + B ( 2 x + 3)( x 2 ) + C ( 2 x + 3)
2

Step 4 For this problem we can pick good values of x to determine only two of the three constants. Here is that work.

3 x= : 2 x = 2:

7 49 49 =A = A 4 2 21 = 7C

A=4 C = 3

Step 5 To get the remaining constant we can use any value of x and plug that along with the values of A and C we found in the previous step into the equation from Step 3. It really doesnt matter what value of x we pick as long as it isnt x = 3 2 or x = 2 since we used those in the previous step. The idea here is to pick a value of x that wont create large or messy numbers, if possible. Good choices are often x = 0 or x = 1 , provided they werent used in the previous step of course. For this problem x = 0 seems to be a good choice. Here is the work for this step.

= 7

( 4 )( 2 )

+ B ( 3)( 2 ) + ( 3)( 3) B= 0

7= 7 6 B 0= 6 B

In this case one of the constants ended up being zero. This happens on occasion but there is no way, in general, to know ahead of time that was going to happen so dont worry about it. If it turns out one of the constants is zero then well figure that out when we do the work. Step 6 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

4 x 2 22 x + 7 4 3 = 2 2 ( 2 x + 3)( x 2 ) 2 x + 3 ( x 2 )

8. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 x ( x2 + x + 7 )
Step 1
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College Algebra

The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

Bx + C 3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 A = + 2 2 x ( x + x + 7) x x + x + 7
Step 2

The LCD for this expression is x x 2 + x + 7 . Adding the terms back up gives,
2 3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 A ( x + x + 7 ) + ( Bx + C )( x ) = x ( x2 + x + 7 ) x ( x2 + x + 7 )

Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 = A ( x 2 + x + 7 ) + ( Bx + C )( x )
Step 4 Because we have an unfactorable quadratic equation here the method we used in the first problems from this section wont work. So, we will need to multiply everything out and collect like terms.

3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 = Ax 2 + Ax + 7 A + Bx 2 + Cx = ( A + B ) x2 + ( A + C ) x + 7 A
Step 5 We now need to set coefficients equal. Remember this just means setting the coefficient of the x 2 on both sides equal and similarly for the coefficients of the x and the constants. Doing this gives,

A+ B = 3 A+C = 7 7 A = 28
Step 6 As mentioned in the notes this is a system of equations that we really havent talked about how to solve in general, but that is not a real problem. From the third equation we can see that we must have A = 4 . Once we have this we only need to plug that into the first two equations to determine the values of B and C. Here is that work,

4+ B = 3 B= 1 = 4+C 7 = C 3
Step 7 The partial fraction decomposition is then,
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College Algebra

3 x 2 + 7 x + 28 4 3 x = + 2 2 x ( x + x + 7) x x + x + 7

9. Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expression.

4 x 3 + 16 x + 7

(x

+ 4)

Step 1 The first step is to determine the form of the partial fraction decomposition. For this problem the partial fraction decomposition is,

4 x3 + 16 x + 7 Ax + B Cx + D = + 2 x 2 + 4 ( x 2 + 4 )2 ( x2 + 4)
Step 2

The LCD for this expression is x 2 + 4 . Adding the terms back up gives, 4 x3 + 16 x + 7

(x

+ 4)

( Ax + B ) ( x 2 + 4 ) + Cx + D

(x

+ 4)

Step 3 Setting the numerators equal gives,

4 x3 + 16 x + 7 =

( Ax + B ) ( x 2 + 4 ) + Cx + D

Step 4 Because we have an unfactorable quadratic equation here the method we used in the first problems from this section wont work. So, we will need to multiply everything out and collect like terms.

4 x3 + 16 x + 7 = Ax3 + 4 Ax + Bx 2 + 4 B + Cx + D = Ax3 + Bx 2 + ( 4 A + C ) x + 4 B + D
Step 5 We now need to set coefficients equal. Remember this just means setting the coefficient of the x 3 on both sides equal and similarly for the coefficients of the x 2 , the x and the constants. Doing this gives,

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College Algebra

A=4 B=0 4A + C = 16 4B + D = 7
Step 6 As mentioned in the notes this is a system of equations that we really havent talked about how to solve in general, but that is not a real problem. From the first two equations we can see that we must have A = 4 and B = 0 . Once we have this we only need to plug that into the last two equations to determine the values of C and D. Here is that work,

4 ( 4) + C = 16 4 ( 0) + D = 7

C =0 D=7

In this case two of the constants ended up being zero. This happens on occasion but there is no way, in general, to know ahead of time that was going to happen so dont worry about it. If it turns out one, or more, of the constants are zero then well figure that out when we do the work. Step 7 The partial fraction decomposition is then,

4 x 3 + 16 x + 7 4x 7 = + 2 2 x + 4 ( x 2 + 4 )2 ( x2 + 4)

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