Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Products-to-Powers Rule
The products-to-powers rule states that when raising a product to a power, you can distribute the exponent to each factor in the product. For example, (ab)ⁿ = aⁿbⁿ. This rule is essential for simplifying expressions where multiple variables or constants are multiplied together and then raised to an exponent.
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Negative Exponents
Negative exponents indicate the reciprocal of the base raised to the opposite positive exponent. For instance, x⁻ⁿ = 1/xⁿ. Understanding how to handle negative exponents is crucial for simplifying expressions, especially when they appear in the context of products or quotients.
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Simplifying Expressions
Simplifying expressions involves reducing them to their simplest form, which often includes combining like terms, applying exponent rules, and eliminating any negative exponents. This process is vital in algebra to make expressions easier to work with and to prepare them for further operations or evaluations.
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