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An exponent is a number that indicates how many times a certain number, say b, is multiplied by itself. The expression 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 can be written as 24, where 4 is the exponent and 2 is called the base. An exponent, which is also called a power, is written as a superscript of the base number. A base b raised to a power n is written as bn.
Exponent is a simple but powerful idea and can be used to create shortcuts in problems. To multiply 24 by 26, for instance, simply add the powers to find the product 24 + 6, or 210.
What if 24 is multiplied by 36? The bases, 2 and 3, are different. In this case, the product cannot be found by adding the powers. The following are the three basic rules of exponents. Using these three laws, more properties of exponents can be found.
- When multiplying two numbers with the same base...
This section contains 370 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
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