Answered

Select the correct answer.

Which expression is equivalent to the difference shown?

[tex]\[
\frac{5x + 1}{5x} - \frac{4x + 1}{4x}
\][/tex]

A. [tex]\(-\frac{1}{20x}\)[/tex]

B. [tex]\(\frac{9}{20x}\)[/tex]

C. [tex]\(\frac{1}{10x}\)[/tex]

D. [tex]\(\frac{x}{20}\)[/tex]



Answer :

Let's simplify the given expression step by step to find which option is equivalent to the difference shown.

The expression given is

[tex]\[ \frac{5x + 1}{5x} - \frac{4x + 1}{4x} \][/tex]

First, we simplify each fraction separately:

[tex]\[ \frac{5x + 1}{5x} = \frac{5x}{5x} + \frac{1}{5x} = 1 + \frac{1}{5x} \][/tex]

[tex]\[ \frac{4x + 1}{4x} = \frac{4x}{4x} + \frac{1}{4x} = 1 + \frac{1}{4x} \][/tex]

Now we subtract these two expressions:

[tex]\[ \left(1 + \frac{1}{5x}\right) - \left(1 + \frac{1}{4x}\right) \][/tex]

Simplify the subtraction inside the parentheses:

[tex]\[ 1 + \frac{1}{5x} - 1 - \frac{1}{4x} = \frac{1}{5x} - \frac{1}{4x} \][/tex]

Now, we need to combine these two fractions. To do that, we find the common denominator, which is [tex]\(20x\)[/tex]:

[tex]\[ \frac{1}{5x} = \frac{4}{20x} \][/tex]
[tex]\[ \frac{1}{4x} = \frac{5}{20x} \][/tex]

Now, subtract these fractions:

[tex]\[ \frac{4}{20x} - \frac{5}{20x} = \frac{4 - 5}{20x} = \frac{-1}{20x} \][/tex]

Thus, the simplified form of the original expression is

[tex]\[ -\frac{1}{20x} \][/tex]

Hence, the correct answer is:

A. [tex]\(-\frac{1}{20 x}\)[/tex]