Law of Exponents

Use the laws of exponents to simplify expressions, including those with rational exponents.

  1. a^{m},\ a^{n}=a^{m+n}
  2. (a^{m})^{n}=a^{mn}
  3. a^{-m}=\frac{1}{a^{m}}
  4. a^{\frac{1}{n}}=\sqrt[n]{a^1}
  5. \frac{a^m}{a^n}=a^{m-n}

 

Simplify: \frac{a(a^{3}b^{2})}{(a^{3})^{2}}=\frac{a^{4}b^{2}}{a^6}=\frac{a\cdot a\cdot a\cdot a\cdot b\cdot b}{a\cdot a\cdot a\cdot a\cdot a\cdot a}=\frac{b^2}{a^2}

 

Simplify: 36^{\frac{1}{2}}=\sqrt[2]{36^1}=\sqrt{36}=6\rightarrow 6\times 6