Algebra Examples

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

Step 1

To divide by a fraction, multiply by its reciprocal.

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

Step 2

Simplify each term.

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Step 2.1

Simplify the denominator.

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Step 2.1.1

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

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

Step 2.1.2

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

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Step 2.1.2.1

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 2.1.2.2

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 2.1.2.3

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 2.1.3

Simplify and combine like terms.

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Step 2.1.3.1

Simplify each term.

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Step 2.1.3.1.1

Multiply $a$ by $a$ .

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

Step 2.1.3.1.2

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

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

Step 2.1.3.1.3

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

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

Step 2.1.3.1.4

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

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

Step 2.1.3.1.5

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 1$ .

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

Step 2.1.3.2

Subtract $a$ from $- a$ .

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

Step 2.1.4

Subtract $2 a$ from $3 a$ .

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

Step 2.2

Simplify the denominator.

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Step 2.2.1

Rewrite $1$ as $1^{3}$ .

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

Step 2.2.2

Since both terms are perfect cubes, factor using the difference of cubes formula, $a^{3} - b^{3} = (a - b) (a^{2} + a b + b^{2})$ where $a = a$ and $b = 1$ .

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

Step 2.2.3

Simplify.

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Step 2.2.3.1

Multiply $a$ by $1$ .

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

Step 2.2.3.2

One to any power is one.

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

Step 3

To write $\frac{a - 1}{a^{2} + a + 1}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{a - 1}{a - 1}$ .

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

Step 4

Write each expression with a common denominator of $(a^{2} + a + 1) (a - 1)$ , by multiplying each by an appropriate factor of $1$ .

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Step 4.1

Multiply $\frac{a - 1}{a^{2} + a + 1}$ by $\frac{a - 1}{a - 1}$ .

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

Step 4.2

Reorder the factors of $(a^{2} + a + 1) (a - 1)$ .

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

Step 5

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

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

Step 6

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 6.1

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

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Step 6.1.1

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 6.1.2

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 6.1.3

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 6.2

Simplify and combine like terms.

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Step 6.2.1

Simplify each term.

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Step 6.2.1.1

Multiply $a$ by $a$ .

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

Step 6.2.1.2

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

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

Step 6.2.1.3

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

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

Step 6.2.1.4

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

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

Step 6.2.1.5

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 1$ .

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

Step 6.2.2

Subtract $a$ from $- a$ .

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

Step 6.3

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 6.4

Simplify.

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Step 6.4.1

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

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

Step 6.4.2

Multiply $- 3$ by $- 1$ .

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

Step 6.5

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

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

Step 6.6

Add $- 2 a + 1 - 1 + 3 a$ and $0$ .

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

Step 6.7

Add $- 2 a$ and $3 a$ .

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

Step 6.8

Subtract $1$ from $1$ .

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

Step 6.9

Add $a$ and $0$ .

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

Step 7

To write $- \frac{1}{a - 1}$ as a fraction with a common denominator, multiply by $\frac{a^{2} + a + 1}{a^{2} + a + 1}$ .

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

Step 8

Simplify terms.

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Step 8.1

Multiply $\frac{1}{a - 1}$ by $\frac{a^{2} + a + 1}{a^{2} + a + 1}$ .

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

Step 8.2

Combine the numerators over the common denominator.

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

Step 9

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 9.1

Apply the distributive property.

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

Step 9.2

Multiply $- 1$ by $1$ .

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

Step 9.3

Subtract $a$ from $a$ .

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

Step 9.4

Add $- a^{2}$ and $0$ .

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

Step 10

Simplify terms.

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Step 10.1

Cancel the common factor of $a - 1$ .

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Step 10.1.1

Cancel the common factor.

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

Step 10.1.2

Rewrite the expression.

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

Step 10.2

Multiply $\frac{- a^{2} - 1}{a^{2} + a + 1}$ by $\frac{1}{a^{2} + 1}$ .

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

Step 10.3

Cancel the common factor of $- a^{2} - 1$ and $a^{2} + 1$ .

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Step 10.3.1

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

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

Step 10.3.2

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

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

Step 10.3.3

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

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

Step 10.3.4

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

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

Step 10.3.5

Cancel the common factor.

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

Step 10.3.6

Rewrite the expression.

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

Step 10.4

Move the negative in front of the fraction.

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