I've been using Simplify/FullSimplify
to simplify some nasty equations, and by and large it does well but sometimes it rearranges equations in an unhelpful way.
Here's a simple example. Say x
is a positive number (standing in for some generally much more complicated factors),
$Assumptions=x>0
I have an equation like
eq = x^2 (a + b - 2 c^2 b) == 0
eq // Simplify
a + b == 2 b c^2
But I don't want it to move terms from the LHS
to the RHS
, splitting up terms proportional to b
. I want them grouped together.
I can use Collect
to keep these terms together, but then I have no way of dividing out the x^2
. I could use Collect
then divide out the x^2
manually, but the terms I'm using x^2
to stand in for are quite unwieldy, and it would be quite laborious to do this case-by-case, especially when Simplif
y does it right away.
My question: Is there any simple way to take eq
and output
a + b - 2c^2 b == 0 (* or *) a + (1-2c^2)b ==0
without explicitly specifying that I want to divide out x^2
(since Simplify
divides this out automatically)?