Problem

Find the domain of the following function.
\[
f(x)=\frac{x+5}{x^{2}-16}
\]
Choose the correct domain below.
A. $(-\infty, 16)$ or $(16, \infty)$
B. $(-\infty,-4)$ or $(-4,4)$ or $(4, \infty)$
C. $(-\infty, 5)$ or $(5, \infty)$
D. all real numbers

Answer

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Answer

Final Answer: The correct domain is \(\boxed{(-\infty,-4) \text{ or } (-4,4) \text{ or } (4, \infty)}\).

Steps

Step 1 :The function given is \(f(x)=\frac{x+5}{x^{2}-16}\).

Step 2 :The domain of a function is the set of all possible input values (x-values) which will output real numbers.

Step 3 :In this case, the function is a rational function, and the denominator cannot be zero.

Step 4 :Therefore, we need to find the values of x that make the denominator zero and exclude them from the domain.

Step 5 :The denominator is \(x^{2}-16\), which can be factored into \((x-4)(x+4)\).

Step 6 :Therefore, the values of x that make the denominator zero are 4 and -4.

Step 7 :So, the domain of the function is all real numbers except 4 and -4.

Step 8 :Final Answer: The correct domain is \(\boxed{(-\infty,-4) \text{ or } (-4,4) \text{ or } (4, \infty)}\).

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