How do you factor the expression and use the fundamental identities to simplify #(cos^2x-4)/(cosx-2)#?

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Answer 1 · 2017-02-05T08:19:28

The answer is #=cosx+2#

We need

#a^2-b^2=(a+b)(a-b)#

Therefore,

#cos^2x-4=(cosx-2)(cosx+2)#

So,

#(cos^2x-4)/(cosx-2)=(cancel(cosx-2)(cosx+2))/cancel(cosx-2)#

#=cosx+2#