How do you simplify #(x^2)(x^7)#?

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Answer 1 · 2016-05-17T11:30:46

#x^9#

As they are both just #x# you are allowed to do this:

#x^(2+7) = x^9 larr" this is the shortcut method"#

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More teaching!

You can only do the above for multiply. If they were divide then we do something different.

Example: suppose we had #a^4-:a^2#

Then this is written as #a^(4-2) = a^2 larr" this is the shortcut method"#

Consider it as :#(axxaxxcancel(a)xxcancel(a))/(cancel(a)xxcancel(a)) = a^2#