Lesson 2

Lesson 2: Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions

 

Focus

 

What’s your favourite game or sport that is played on a court? Basketball, volleyball, and tennis are some common games played on courts, but have you ever played jai alai?

 

Jai alai is a sport with Spanish origins played on a large rectangular court called a fronton. The court consists of a floor that can extend up to 200 ft in length and includes three wall surfaces. A player in jai alai bounces a special ball off the front wall using a custom-made basket that is attached to the player’s wrist. A player earns a point if the opponent fails to catch the ball when it rebounds. Known as the fastest sport on Earth and also described as “ballet with bullets,” jai alai can be played one-on-one or with pairs.

 

In this lesson you will learn how to multiply and divide rational expressions. You will use rational expressions to model the dimensions of the courts in various sports and games, including jai alai.

 

Lesson Outcomes

 

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• compare the strategies for multiplying and dividing rational expressions to the strategies for multiplying and dividing rational numbers

• determine the non-permissible values when multiplying and dividing rational expressions
• determine, in simplified form, the product or quotient of rational expressions

Lesson Questions

 

You will investigate the following questions:

• How are multiplying and dividing rational expressions similar to multiplying and dividing rational numbers?
• How are non-permissible values determined when multiplying and dividing rational expressions?

Assessment

 

Your assessment may be based on a combination of the following tasks:

• completion of the Lesson 2 Assignment (Download the Lesson 2 Assignment and save it in your course folder now.)
• course folder submissions from Try This and Share activities
• work under Project Connection