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Partial Fractions

Exercises on mastering the art of partial fraction decomposition.

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Express in partial fractions. Your answer must be in a particular format. Click the question number to see the template the answer must match.

1 $$\dfrac{6x+5}{(2x-1)^2}$$

\(\equiv\)

\(\frac{\square }{\square x-\square }+\frac{\square }{(\square x-\square )^2}\)
2 $$\dfrac{9}{(x-1)(x+2)^2}$$

\(\equiv\)

\(\frac{\square }{x-\square }-\frac{\square }{x+\square }-\frac{\square }{(x+\square )^2}\)
3 $$\dfrac{7x-13}{(x+2)(x-1)^2}$$

\(\equiv\)

\(\frac{\square }{x-\square }-\frac{\square }{(x-\square )^2}-\frac{\square }{x+\square }\)
4 $$\dfrac{x(3x-13)}{(x+1)(x-3)^2}$$

\(\equiv\)

\(\frac{\square }{x+\square }+\frac{\square }{x-\square }-\frac{\square }{(x-\square )^2}\)
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This is Partial Fractions level 3. You can also try:
Level 1 Level 2 Level 4

Instructions

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Description of Levels

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Before starting this exercise you may want to check out Algebraic Fractions.

Refer to the syllabus for the course you are following to establish which levels are required.

Level 1 - Linear numerator and quadratic denominator decomposing to two fractions with linear denominators

Example:

$$ \frac{px+q}{(x-a)(x-b)} \equiv \frac{A}{x-a} + \frac{B}{x-b} $$

Level 2 - Linear or quadratic numerator and cubic denominator decomposing to three fractions with linear denominators

Example:

$$ \frac{px^2+qx+r}{(x-a)(x-b)(x-c)} \equiv\frac{A}{x-a} + \frac{B}{x-b} + \frac{C}{x-c} $$

Level 3 - Linear or quadratic numerator and a denominator with a repeated factor

Examples:

$$ \frac{px+q}{(x-a)^2} \equiv \frac{A}{x-a} + \frac{B}{(x-a)^2} $$ $$ \frac{px^2+qx+r}{(x-a)^2(x-b)} \equiv \frac{A}{x-a} + \frac{B}{(x-a)^2} + \frac{C}{x-b} $$

Level 4 - Linear or quadratic numerator and a denominator with a quadratic factor that cannot be factorised

Example:

$$ \frac{px^2+qx+r}{(x-a)(x^2+bx+c)} \equiv \frac{A}{x-a} + \frac{Bx+C}{x^2+bx+c} $$

If the degree of the numerator is greater than or equal to the degree of the denominator you will need to divide first. See the exercise on Polynonial Division.

Exam Style Questions - A collection of problems in the style of GCSE or IB/A-level exam paper questions (worked solutions are available for Transum subscribers).

More on this topic including lesson Starters, visual aids, investigations and self-marking exercises.

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Example - Level 3

To decompose the algebraic fraction \( \frac{3x+2}{(x-1)^2} \) into partial fractions, we will express it as \( \frac{A}{x-1} + \frac{B}{(x-1)^2} \). We need to find the constants A and B.

Multiply both sides of the equation by \((x-1)^2\) to eliminate the denominators:

$$ (3x+2) \equiv A(x-1) + B $$

Expand the right side to group like terms:

$$ 3x + 2 \equiv Ax - A + B $$

For the equation to hold true for all values of x, the coefficients of the corresponding powers of x on both sides must be equal. Let's compare the coefficients:

To find B, set \( x = 1 \):

$$ (3(1) + 2) = A(1 - 1) + B $$ $$ 5 = 0 + B $$ $$ B = 5 $$

Now, to find A, since there is no \( x^2 \) term, we only need to equate the coefficients of x. From the equation \( 3x \equiv Ax \), we get:

$$ A = 3 $$

Having found A and B, we can now write the original fraction as:

$$ \frac{3x+2}{(x-1)^2} \equiv \frac{3}{x-1} + \frac{5}{(x-1)^2} $$

Thus, the partial fraction decomposition of \( \frac{3x+2}{(x-1)^2} \) is \( \frac{3}{x-1} + \frac{5}{(x-1)^2} \).

Typing Mathematical Notation

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MathQuill Animation

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