which of the following is equal to x/y + y/x a) 1 b) 2 c) x^2+y^2/xy d) 1/xy

Answer 1

To add x/y + y/x, you need a common denominator. This would be xy.

You need to multiply each term by the appropriate variable to to write the problem with a common denominator of xy.

This means to multiply the first term (x/y) by "x/x" and the second term by "y/y" OR:

(x^2 + y^2) / xy

So the correct choice is c

You can verify this by selecting some numbers for x and y and "trying them out". Let's say x = 2 and y = 3.

Then x/y + y/x would be 2/3 + 3/2 = 4/6 + 9/6 = 13/6

Then (x^2 + y^2 ) / xy would be (2^2 + 3^2)/ 2*3= (4 + 9)/6 = 13/6