Algebra Examples

$\frac{\frac{a - 1}{a} - \frac{a}{1 + a}}{\frac{1 + a}{a} + \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 1

Multiply the numerator and denominator of the fraction by $a (1 + a) (1 - a)$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 1.1

Multiply $\frac{\frac{a - 1}{a} - \frac{a}{1 + a}}{\frac{1 + a}{a} + \frac{a}{1 - a}}$ by $\frac{a (1 + a) (1 - a)}{a (1 + a) (1 - a)}$ .

$\frac{a (1 + a) (1 - a)}{a (1 + a) (1 - a)} \cdot \frac{\frac{a - 1}{a} - \frac{a}{1 + a}}{\frac{1 + a}{a} + \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 1.2

Combine.

$\frac{a (1 + a) (1 - a) (\frac{a - 1}{a} - \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) (\frac{1 + a}{a} + \frac{a}{1 - a})}$

Step 2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a - 1}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3

Simplify by cancelling.

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.1

Cancel the common factor of $a$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.1.1

Factor $a$ out of $a (1 + a) (1 - a)$ .

$\frac{a ((1 + a) (1 - a)) \frac{a - 1}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.1.2

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{a ((1 + a) (1 - a)) \frac{a - 1}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.1.3

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{(1 + a) (1 - a) (a - 1) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.2

Rewrite $1$ as $- 1 (- 1)$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) (- 1 (- 1) - a) (a - 1) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.3

Factor $- 1$ out of $- a$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) (- 1 (- 1) - (a)) (a - 1) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.4

Factor $- 1$ out of $- 1 (- 1) - (a)$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) (- 1 (- 1 + a)) (a - 1) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.5

Reorder terms.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 (a - 1) (a - 1) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.6

Raise $a - 1$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 ({(a - 1)}^{1} (a - 1)) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.7

Raise $a - 1$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 ({(a - 1)}^{1} {(a - 1)}^{1}) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.8

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{1 + 1} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.9

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) (- \frac{a}{1 + a})}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.10

Cancel the common factor of $1 + a$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.10.1

Move the leading negative in $- \frac{a}{1 + a}$ into the numerator.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{- a}{1 + a}}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.10.2

Factor $1 + a$ out of $a (1 + a) (1 - a)$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + (1 + a) (a (1 - a)) \frac{- a}{1 + a}}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.10.3

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + (1 + a) (a (1 - a)) \frac{- a}{1 + a}}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.10.4

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a (1 - a) (- a)}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.11

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{1} a (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.12

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{1} a^{1} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.13

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{1 + 1} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.14

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.15

Cancel the common factor of $a$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.15.1

Factor $a$ out of $a (1 + a) (1 - a)$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a ((1 + a) (1 - a)) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.15.2

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{a ((1 + a) (1 - a)) \frac{1 + a}{a} + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.15.3

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a) (1 + a) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.16

Raise $1 + a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{1} (1 + a) (1 - a) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.17

Raise $1 + a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{1} {(1 + a)}^{1} (1 - a) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.18

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{1 + 1} (1 - a) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.19

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a (1 + a) (1 - a) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.20

Cancel the common factor of $1 - a$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 3.20.1

Factor $1 - a$ out of $a (1 + a) (1 - a)$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + (1 - a) (a (1 + a)) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.20.2

Cancel the common factor.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + (1 - a) (a (1 + a)) \frac{a}{1 - a}}$

Step 3.20.3

Rewrite the expression.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a (1 + a) a}$

Step 3.21

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{1} a (1 + a)}$

Step 3.22

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{1} a^{1} (1 + a)}$

Step 3.23

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{1 + 1} (1 + a)}$

Step 3.24

Add $1$ and $1$ .

$\frac{(1 + a) \cdot - 1 {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4

Simplify the numerator.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{(1 \cdot - 1 + a \cdot - 1) {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.2

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{(- 1 + a \cdot - 1) {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.3

Move $- 1$ to the left of $a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - 1 \cdot a) {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.4

Rewrite $- 1 a$ as $- a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) {(a - 1)}^{2} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.5

Rewrite ${(a - 1)}^{2}$ as $(a - 1) (a - 1)$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) ((a - 1) (a - 1)) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.6

Expand $(a - 1) (a - 1)$ using the FOIL Method.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.6.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a (a - 1) - 1 (a - 1)) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.6.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a \cdot a + a \cdot - 1 - 1 (a - 1)) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.6.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a \cdot a + a \cdot - 1 - 1 a - 1 \cdot - 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7

Simplify and combine like terms.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.7.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.7.1.1

Multiply $a$ by $a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} + a \cdot - 1 - 1 a - 1 \cdot - 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7.1.2

Move $- 1$ to the left of $a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - 1 \cdot a - 1 a - 1 \cdot - 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7.1.3

Rewrite $- 1 a$ as $- a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - a - 1 a - 1 \cdot - 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7.1.4

Rewrite $- 1 a$ as $- a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - a - a - 1 \cdot - 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7.1.5

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - a - a + 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.7.2

Subtract $a$ from $- a$ .

$\frac{(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - 2 a + 1) + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.8

Expand $(- 1 - a) (a^{2} - 2 a + 1)$ by multiplying each term in the first expression by each term in the second expression.

$\frac{- 1 a^{2} - 1 (- 2 a) - 1 \cdot 1 - a \cdot a^{2} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.9.1

Rewrite $- 1 a^{2}$ as $- a^{2}$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} - 1 (- 2 a) - 1 \cdot 1 - a \cdot a^{2} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.2

Multiply $- 2$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 \cdot 1 - a \cdot a^{2} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.3

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a \cdot a^{2} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.4

Multiply $a$ by $a^{2}$ by adding the exponents.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.9.4.1

Move $a^{2}$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - (a^{2} a) - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.4.2

Multiply $a^{2}$ by $a$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.9.4.2.1

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - (a^{2} a^{1}) - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.4.2.2

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{2 + 1} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.4.3

Add $2$ and $1$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} - a (- 2 a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.5

Rewrite using the commutative property of multiplication.

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot - 2 a \cdot a - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.6

Multiply $a$ by $a$ by adding the exponents.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.9.6.1

Move $a$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot - 2 (a \cdot a) - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.6.2

Multiply $a$ by $a$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot - 2 a^{2} - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.7

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 2$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} + 2 a^{2} - a \cdot 1 + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.9.8

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{- a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} + 2 a^{2} - a + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.10

Add $- a^{2}$ and $2 a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + 2 a - 1 - a^{3} - a + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.11

Subtract $a$ from $2 a$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + a^{2} (1 - a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.12

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} \cdot 1 + a^{2} (- a)) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.13

Multiply $a^{2}$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} + a^{2} (- a)) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.14

Rewrite using the commutative property of multiplication.

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} - a^{2} a) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.15

Multiply $a^{2}$ by $a$ by adding the exponents.

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.15.1

Move $a$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} - (a \cdot a^{2})) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.15.2

Multiply $a$ by $a^{2}$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.15.2.1

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} - (a^{1} a^{2})) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.15.2.2

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} - a^{1 + 2}) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.15.3

Add $1$ and $2$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + (a^{2} - a^{3}) \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.16

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} + a^{2} \cdot - 1 - a^{3} \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.17

Move $- 1$ to the left of $a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot a^{2} - a^{3} \cdot - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.18

Multiply $- a^{3} \cdot - 1$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 4.18.1

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 1$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot a^{2} + 1 a^{3}}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.18.2

Multiply $a^{3}$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} - 1 \cdot a^{2} + a^{3}}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.19

Rewrite $- 1 a^{2}$ as $- a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a^{2} + a - 1 - a^{3} - a^{2} + a^{3}}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.20

Subtract $a^{2}$ from $a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a - 1 - a^{3} + 0 + a^{3}}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.21

Add $a$ and $0$ .

$\frac{a - 1 - a^{3} + a^{3}}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.22

Add $- a^{3}$ and $a^{3}$ .

$\frac{a - 1 + 0}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 4.23

Add $a - 1$ and $0$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{{(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 5

Simplify the denominator.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.1

Factor $1 + a$ out of ${(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a) + a^{2} (1 + a)$ .

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.1.1

Factor $1 + a$ out of ${(1 + a)}^{2} (1 - a)$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) ((1 + a) (1 - a)) + a^{2} (1 + a)}$

Step 5.1.2

Factor $1 + a$ out of $a^{2} (1 + a)$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) ((1 + a) (1 - a)) + (1 + a) a^{2}}$

Step 5.1.3

Factor $1 + a$ out of $(1 + a) ((1 + a) (1 - a)) + (1 + a) a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) ((1 + a) (1 - a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.2

Expand $(1 + a) (1 - a)$ using the FOIL Method.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.2.1

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 (1 - a) + a (1 - a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.2.2

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 \cdot 1 + 1 (- a) + a (1 - a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.2.3

Apply the distributive property.

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 \cdot 1 + 1 (- a) + a \cdot 1 + a (- a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3

Simplify and combine like terms.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.3.1

Simplify each term.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.3.1.1

Multiply $1$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 + 1 (- a) + a \cdot 1 + a (- a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.1.2

Multiply $- a$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a + a \cdot 1 + a (- a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.1.3

Multiply $a$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a + a + a (- a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.1.4

Rewrite using the commutative property of multiplication.

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a + a - a \cdot a + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.1.5

Multiply $a$ by $a$ by adding the exponents.

Tap for more steps...

Step 5.3.1.5.1

Move $a$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a + a - (a \cdot a) + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.1.5.2

Multiply $a$ by $a$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a + a - a^{2} + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.2

Add $- a$ and $a$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 + 0 - a^{2} + a^{2})}$

Step 5.3.3

Add $1$ and $0$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 - a^{2} + a^{2})}$

Step 5.4

Add $- a^{2}$ and $a^{2}$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) (1 + 0)}$

Step 5.5

Add $1$ and $0$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{(1 + a) \cdot 1}$

Step 6

Multiply $1 + a$ by $1$ .

$\frac{a - 1}{1 + a}$