Which of the following expressions is equivalent to ?
Choice D is correct. The numerator of the given expression can be rewritten in terms of the denominator, , as follows:
, which is equivalent to
. So the given expression is equivalent to
. Since the given expression is defined for
, the expression can be rewritten as
.
Long division can also be used as an alternate approach. Choices A, B, and C are incorrect and may result from errors made when dividing the two polynomials or making use of structure.