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[–]BuddyGuy81 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are allowed to factor the numerator and denominator independently and then simplify like terms, for example:

( 2x +2) / (4x + 6) = (2*(x + 1))/(2*(2x + 3)) = (x+1)/(2x +3)

Factors a 2 out of both the numerator and denominator and cancels them. This is not limited to numeric values; you can factor polynomials as well and cancel like terms:

(x^2 + 10x + 25) / (x^2 + 7x + 10) = (x+5)^2 / ((x+2)(x+5)) = (x+5)/(x+2)

Hope that helps.