The solutions to the Test 3 problems are posted on the Test solutions page (warning: an earlier version was posted there which had not been fully edited. Please make sure you look at this version.) There were, as usual, two versions of the test. Look at the bottom left corner of the Cover Sheet to see which version yours was.
I have a few general comments about these problems also:
• As usual, please pay attention to the comments I wrote. Very common comment this time was “invalid canceling” or “incorrect canceling”: please make sure you understand why what you did was wrong.
• If I wrote any comment that said that you did not show enough work (however phrased) please understand that this a serious matter which you need to attend to. I will not be lenient on this in future tests.
• A lot of people did well on the first page and then very poorly on page two. One big cause of this was failure to read the instructions: students treated the expressions that they were to simplify as equations to be solved, which they were not. READ THE FRIENDLY INSTRUCTIONS!
• On the third page, where you had to solve equations, many people made the problems much harder than they needed to be, because of not CLEARING the denominators, or because of not using the LCM but rather using the product of all the denominators to clear the denominators. I will put some examples of how this makes things more difficult on this post later on.
• There will be a few problems like problems 2, 3, and 4 on the next Test as well, so make sure that you correct your erroneous methods. The WeBWorKs on Rational Expressions and on Fractional (really rational) Equations are available for you to practice and they offer hints and solutions if you use “show me another”
Test 4 is rescheduled to Monday 2 December, and will not be re-scheduled barring emergency situation.
