Exponents Discovery

Monday, October 07, 2013 9:01 AM

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Type a paragraph explaining what you have learned. What is a base? What is a power? What does a base and power (exponent) tell you to do? What is a power a shortcut to? How could you use geometry to describe squaring or cubing a number?

1- In the activity, I learned a few new things about exponents. I knew a little about them before but the activity taught me much more. I learned what the top and bottom number are called, how variables can be included with exponents, what ways I can write exponents and how to type them in on a calculator 2- The base is the larger bottom number that is being multiplied. 3- The power is the smaller top number that shows how many times the base will be multiplied by itself 4- An exponent tells you to multiply the base by itself however many times the power says to. 5- The power is a shortcut to repeated multiplication 6- You could use 3-D shapes to show how much you have of something. Then you could square or cube it and redraw the shape to see how much more you have. Base 2 Exponent Meaning 4 3 2 2 2 1 2 0 2 -1 2 -2 2 -3 2 -4 2 1/2*1/2*1/2*1/2 0.0625 1/2*1/2*1/2 0.125 1/2*1/2 0.25 1/2 0.5 1 1 2 2 2*2 4 2*2*2*2 2*2*2 Value 16 8

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Use constants to help you think through what happens with variables in the following list of questions. What do you get when you add x by x? You get 2x What do you get when you subtract x by x? You get 0 What do you get when you multiply x by x? You get X2 What do you get when you divide x by x? You get 1

Introduction to Exponents Page 1

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What do you get when you divide x by x? You get 1 What do you get when you multiply x by x by x? You get X3 What about x by x by x by x by x? You get X4 What do you get when you multiply x^2 by x? You get X3 What about x^2 by x^3? You get X5 What about x^4 by x^6? You get X10 Come up with a rule that explains what happens when you multiply same bases. When you multiply same bases, you can add the powers together to get the final power

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What do you get when you divide x by x? You get 1 What do you get when you multiply x^2 by x? You get X3 What about x^4 by x^2? You get X6 What do you get when you divide x^5 by x^3? X2 What about x^6 by x? You get X6 Come up with a rule that explains what happens when you divide same bases. When you divide same bases, you can cancel out the powers then write the powers that are left next the base
What do you get when you square x^3? You get X5 What do you get when you square x^4? You get X6 What do you get when you cube x^2? You get X5 What do you get when you raise x^3 to the fourth power? You get (X3)4 What do you get when you raise x^2 to the fifth power? You get (X2)5 Come up with a rule that explains what happens when you raise a base with an exponent by an exponent. When you raise a base with an exponent by an exponent, you do the first power problem then, put the second power on the answer of that problem and solve it.

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Introduction to Exponents Page 2