Quick questions on Partial fractions (SACE Stage 2 Specialist Mathematics)

Q: What are wrong form for repeated factors?

A factor (x - a)^2 needs both Ax-a and B(x-a)^2; using only one term loses solutions.

2short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.

What are wrong form for repeated factors?

Show answer

A factor

(x - a)^2

needs both

\dfrac{A}{x-a}

and

\dfrac{B}{(x-a)^2}

; using only one term loses solutions.

What are arithmetic slips finding constants?

Show answer

After substituting, double-check by recombining the partial fractions; they should return the original numerator.

Have a question we have not covered?

This dot-point answer is short enough that we have not extracted many short questions yet. Read the full dot-point answer or ask Mo, our study assistant, in the chat for follow ups.

All Specialist MathematicsQ&A pages