The problem is to solve the equation $\frac{2}{p-1} - \frac{1}{p-4} = 0$ for the variable $p$.
2025/3/22
1. Problem Description
The problem is to solve the equation for the variable .
2. Solution Steps
We are given the equation
First, we move the second term to the right side of the equation:
Next, we cross-multiply:
Expanding both sides, we have
Now, we subtract from both sides:
Finally, we add 8 to both sides to isolate :
We must also ensure that our solution does not make any of the denominators in the original equation equal to zero.
If , then and . Therefore, is a valid solution.