Review of Introductory Mathematics
EXPONENTS
Rule 4:
Any exponential number divided by itself is equal to one.
an
an
1
Rule 5:
To raise a product to a power, raise each factor to that power.
(ab)n = anbn
This arises from the associative law for multiplication, that is, order of multiplication does not
alter the product.
Example:
(ab)2 = (a x b) x (a x b) = (a x a) (b x b) = a2 x b2
If doubt exists in the student’s mind, try multiplying (2 x 3)2 out in different orders. All orders
will yield 36.
Rule 6:
To raise a quotient to a power, raise both the numerator and denominator
to that power.
a
b
n
an
bn
Example:
To demonstrate this, consider
3
2
2
1.52
2.25
21
4
9
4
But
, the same value.
32
22
9
4
Rev. 0
Page 63
MA-01
