You might recognize this as a classic example of an expression with a simpler form, namely
. However, with a variable, it is left alone:
If you use a number instead of a variable, this simplifies as you would expect:
Use
Refine to simplify this expression as though
x were a real number by using
Element and
Reals:
Simplify can also be used to this end. The primary difference between
Refine and
Simplify is this:
Refine must have assumptions and performs only those basic simplifications which would be automatic for numeric inputs, while
Simplify performs a wider range of simplifications and may be used without assumptions.
Simplify gives you this familiar identity:
