Tag Archives: MATH113

Introduction to Exponents and Polynomials

Evaluating Exponential Expressions

When working with exponents, it might be more helpful to think of them as multiple instances of multiplication. Some exponents are going to be more straight-forward, but be careful of the writing of some exponents.

Let’s take a look at some examples of evaluating exponential expressions:

In the expression below, this is an illustration of what we mean when we say that an exponent is like multiple multiplications. The exponents signify the number of times that the number 2 should be multiplied by itself.

In the next expression, the -3 is in parentheses. This means that the exponent outside of the parentheses needs to be applied to the number as a whole, including its being negative.

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