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Jesse is traveling up and down a stream in a kayak. He can paddle the kayak at an average rate of 5 miles/hour, and the round trip is a total distance of 16 miles. When \( c \) is the speed of the current, this expression can be used to find the difference of the time it takes Jesse to travel upstream (against the current) and downstream (with the current):

[tex]\[ \frac{8}{5-c} - \frac{8}{5+c} \][/tex]

Find the difference in simplest form.



Answer :

To find the difference in the time it takes Jesse to travel upstream and downstream, we start with the given expression:

[tex]\[ \frac{8}{5-c} - \frac{8}{5+c} \][/tex]

We need to simplify this expression.

Step 1: Identify a common denominator
The common denominator for the two fractions is \((5 - c)(5 + c)\).

Step 2: Rewrite each fraction with the common denominator
To achieve this, we multiply the numerator and the denominator of each fraction by the necessary term to obtain the common denominator:

[tex]\[ \frac{8}{5-c} \cdot \frac{5+c}{5+c} = \frac{8(5+c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

[tex]\[ \frac{8}{5+c} \cdot \frac{5-c}{5-c} = \frac{8(5-c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

Step 3: Combine the fractions over the common denominator
Now we can subtract the two fractions:

[tex]\[ \frac{8(5+c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} - \frac{8(5-c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

Since they have the same denominator, we can combine the numerators:

[tex]\[ \frac{8(5+c) - 8(5-c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

Step 4: Simplify the numerator
Distribute the 8 in each part of the numerator:

[tex]\[ 8(5+c) = 40 + 8c \][/tex]

[tex]\[ 8(5-c) = 40 - 8c \][/tex]

Substitute these back into the expression:

[tex]\[ \frac{40 + 8c - (40 - 8c)}{(5-c)(5+c)} = \frac{40 + 8c - 40 + 8c}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

Combine like terms in the numerator:

[tex]\[ \frac{40 + 8c - 40 + 8c}{(5-c)(5+c)} = \frac{16c}{(5-c)(5+c)} \][/tex]

Step 5: Simplify the denominator
Recognize that \((5-c)(5+c)\) is a difference of squares:

[tex]\[ (5-c)(5+c) = 25 - c^2 \][/tex]

Substitute this back into the expression:

[tex]\[ \frac{16c}{25 - c^2} \][/tex]

Thus, the simplified form of the expression representing the time difference is:

[tex]\[ - \frac{16c}{c^2 - 25} \][/tex]

Therefore, the difference in the time it takes Jesse to travel upstream and downstream is:

[tex]\[ - \frac{16c}{c^2 - 25} \][/tex]