Renaming Fractional Expressions
Need some basic practice renaming fractional expressions first? Practice with the Form $\,a\cdot\frac{b}{c}$ and More Practice with the Form $\,a\cdot\frac{b}{c}$
It's often necessary to take a somewhat complicated-looking fraction, like (say) $\,-\frac{5x}{-3}\,,$ and rename it.
One popular name is the form $\,kx\,$: i.e., a number first, and the variable $\,x\,$ last. In general, it is efficient to make two ‘passes’ through the expression: figure out the sign (plus or minus) on the first pass, and the size on the second pass:
$$ \begin{align} \cssId{s10}{-\frac{5x}{-3}}\ \ &\cssId{s11}{\overset{\text{first pass, determine plus/minus sign:}}{ \overset{\text{even # of negative factors, so positive}}{\overbrace{\strut\ \ \ =\ \ \ }}}} \cssId{s12}{\ \ \frac{5x}{3}\ \ }\cr\cr &\qquad\ \cssId{s13}{\overset{\text{‘peel off’ the coefficient}}{ \overset{\text{and write it in front}}{\overbrace{\strut\ \ \ =\ \ \ }}}} \ \ \cssId{s14}{ \underset{k}{\underbrace{\ \frac53\ }} x} \end{align} $$This exercise gives you practice with this type of renaming.