$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}$

Project ID: 
3000000032
Question: 

Gregg simplified the rational expression $$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}$$ in the following steps:

(1) He determined the condition $x\neq1$ right at the beginning.

(2) He modified the second fraction as follows: $$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}=\frac{x}{x-1}+\frac{1}{x-1}$$

(3) Then, he eliminated the fractions by multiplying the rational expresion by $x-1$:

$$\frac{x}{x-1}+\frac{1}{x-1}=x+1$$

Is his solution correct? If not, identify all his mistakes.

Answer 1: 

Yes. The whole solution is perfectly fine.

Answer 2: 

No, his solution is not correct. The mistake is in step (2). He should have modified the second fraction as follows: $$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}=\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{x-1}$$ Then he should have eliminated the fractions by multiplying by $x-1$ and obtained the result $$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{x-1}=x-1$$

Answer 3: 

No, his solution is not correct. The mistake is in step (3). Multiplying the expression by $x-1$ changes its value. The correct step (3) is:

$$\frac{x}{x-1}+\frac{1}{x-1}=\frac{x+1}{x-1}$$

Answer 4: 

No, his solution is not correct. The mistakes are in both steps (2) and (3). Gregg should have modified the second fraction as follows: $$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}=\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{x-1}$$

The next step should then have been:$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{x-1}=\frac{x-1}{x-1}=1$.

Fixed Answer: 
All Fixed
Correct Answer: 
Answer 3
Hint: 

Correct solution:

$$\frac{x}{x-1}-\frac{1}{1-x}=\frac{x}{x-1}+\frac{1}{x-1}=\frac{x+1}{x-1},\quad x\neq1$$