Question

What is the least common denominator (LCD) of the rational expressions being added? 2/x + 3/x2

Answer 1

one denominator is x and the other is x^2.
So the least common denominator (frequently abbreviated as just common denominator) is x^2, since x divides x^2.

Answer 2

x²

Explanation:

First we need to remember the definition of Least Common Denominator: the least common denominator is the lowest common multiple of the denominators of a set of fractions.

For this problem, our denominators are x and x².

The multiples of x are: x, x², x³....

The multiples of x² are: x², x⁴, x⁶...

We can observe that the lowest common multiple of these two denominators is x².