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Simplify. Rationalize the denominator.\newline373\frac{3}{-7 - \sqrt{3}}

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Q. Simplify. Rationalize the denominator.\newline373\frac{3}{-7 - \sqrt{3}}
  1. Select Conjugate: Select the conjugate of 73-7 - \sqrt{3}.\newlineThe conjugate of a number of the form aba - \sqrt{b} is a+ba + \sqrt{b}. Therefore, the conjugate of 73-7 - \sqrt{3} is 7+3-7 + \sqrt{3}.
  2. Multiply by Conjugate: Multiply the numerator and the denominator by the conjugate of the denominator.\newlineTo rationalize the denominator, we multiply the numerator and the denominator by the conjugate of the denominator:\newline(3×(7+3))/((73)×(7+3))(3 \times (-7 + \sqrt{3})) / ((-7 - \sqrt{3}) \times (-7 + \sqrt{3}))
  3. Simplify Numerator: Simplify the numerator.\newlineNow we distribute the 33 in the numerator across the conjugate:\newline3×(7)+3×33 \times (-7) + 3 \times \sqrt{3}\newline=21+33= -21 + 3\sqrt{3}
  4. Simplify Denominator: Simplify the denominator using the difference of squares formula.\newlineThe denominator is in the form of (ab)(a+b)(a - b)(a + b), which simplifies to a2b2a^2 - b^2:\newline(7)2(3)2(-7)^2 - (\sqrt{3})^2\newline=493= 49 - 3\newline=46= 46
  5. Write Simplified Expression: Write the simplified expression.\newlineNow we have the simplified numerator over the simplified denominator:\newline(21+33)/46(-21 + 3\sqrt{3}) / 46\newlineThis fraction is already in simplest form.

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