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Morgan made a mistake when subtracting the rational expressions below:

[tex]
\[
\frac{3t^2-4t+1}{t+3} - \frac{t^2+2t+2}{t+3} = \frac{2t^2-2t+3}{t+3}
\]
[/tex]

What was Morgan's error?

A. Morgan forgot to combine only like terms.

B. Morgan forgot to subtract the denominators as well as the numerators.

C. Morgan forgot to cancel out the +3 in the numerator and denominator as her final step.

D. Morgan forgot to distribute the negative sign to two of the terms in the second expression.

Answer :

Let's look at the problem where Morgan is subtracting two rational expressions:

[tex]\[
\frac{3t^2 - 4t + 1}{t+3} - \frac{t^2 + 2t + 2}{t+3}
\][/tex]

Both rational expressions have the same denominator, [tex]\(t+3\)[/tex]. When subtracting fractions with the same denominator, you simply subtract the numerators and keep the common denominator.

Here's how it should be done step by step:

1. Subtract the Numerators:
You need to subtract the second numerator from the first numerator:

[tex]\[
(3t^2 - 4t + 1) - (t^2 + 2t + 2)
\][/tex]

2. Distribute the Negative Sign:
This is a crucial step where Morgan made a mistake. When you subtract the second numerator, you must distribute the negative sign across all terms in that numerator:

[tex]\[
3t^2 - 4t + 1 - t^2 - 2t - 2
\][/tex]

3. Combine Like Terms:
Now, combine the like terms:

- [tex]\(3t^2 - t^2 = 2t^2\)[/tex]
- [tex]\(-4t - 2t = -6t\)[/tex]
- [tex]\(1 - 2 = -1\)[/tex]

So, the correct numerator after combining like terms is:

[tex]\[
2t^2 - 6t - 1
\][/tex]

4. Write the Correct Expression:
The correct result for the subtraction is:

[tex]\[
\frac{2t^2 - 6t - 1}{t+3}
\][/tex]

Morgan's mistake was in the distribution of the negative sign. She didn't distribute it correctly across all terms in the second numerator. Therefore, the correct error is that Morgan forgot to distribute the negative sign to two of the terms in the second expression.

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