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Re: [Phys-l] 1869 MIT Entrance Exam

At 01:24 PM 10/2/2007, you wrote:
I don't know if this counts as a "trick" but when I went to school
(which was not 1869, just in case you wonder)
this kind of gymnastics with factorization was fairly common and we were
"expected" to figure it out since we constantly practiced it on homework.
...
Karim Diff


Hmmmm ... on the face of it, extracting a common factor, and factorizing
the difference of two squares to end with a factor common to denominator
and numerator is not untaught still, I don't suppose.
Then again, long division of algebraic expressions has gone out of style,
I imagine.

And who wouldn't pass this kind of expression to a solver,
if one came to hand?



Brian Whatcott Altus OK Eureka!