Hey! Can you help me? I don't get anything about the rules of exponents..What even are exponents??
Yes!! Even "4", "7" it can be any number or word
Like "x" or "y"?
Hahaha Of Course!! Let's start with the base. The base is the number or expression that is being multiplied
Exponent
So in the problem 5^2 the base would be 5 and the exponent 2?
Ok now the exponent, this is the number on top of the base. It is the power to which it is being raised.
You betcha! Another example can be (x+3)^4the base is (x+3) and the exponent is 4
Also when two exponents with the same base are being divided like a^8 / a^6 you do the opposite! You substract so it would be a^2!
Product Rule and Quotient Rule
Ohhh yes! The product rule
Yes! Known as the quotient rule
Now, when the base is the same and they are being multiplied like in this problem y^3 x y^5 then you have to add the exponents so the answer would be y^7
Power to Power Rule
What does power to power mean?
Good question! Well if we have (x^3)^5, the power is being raised to a power so we have to multiply the exponents together so it would be x^15 since 3x5 is 15.
Zero exp rule and Negative exp rule
Ohhh ok can it also be 2^-2 is the same as 1/2^2?
so b^0 is equal to 1
Yess!!
Yes!! The last rule you need to know about is the negative exponent rule this means that a^-m is equal to 1/a^m
Now a important rule you can't forget it's when a number is raised to the power of 0 is always equal to 1