GRADE 8 – MATHEMATICS

MULTIPLYING ALGEBRAIC TERMS

Index Notation – What are Indices?

Indices (sing. index) are numbers expressed in the form 𝑎𝑚 where a is called the base and m is called the index,
exponent or power. The expression 𝑎𝑚 is read as “a raised to the mth power”, “a raised to the power of m” or simply
“a to the mth power”. This expression simply means that the base, a, is being multiplied by itself m times. In other
words, the power tells us how many times the base is multiplied by itself.

So, index notation is really just a compact algebraic notation or a shorthand way of expressing repeated
multiplication. For instance, instead of having to write:
2×2×2×2×2×2×2×2×2×2
we can easily write 210 to show that 2 is multiplied by itself ten times.

Note: Bases raised to the 2nd and 3rd powers are given special names. Any base raised to the power of 2 is said to be
squared while bases raised to the 3rd power are said to be cubed. For example 52 is read as “five squared” and 53 is
read as “five cubed”.

Note: A base without a written power implies that the power is 1. For example 𝑝 = 𝑝1 . Any base raised to a power of
zero equals 1. E.g. 𝑝0 = 1.

Let’s Practice!
Express the following indices as products (in expanded form):
a. 𝟐𝟔
Solution: The base is 2 and the power is 6 ∴ 2 is being multiplied by itself 6 times
26 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2
b. 𝒂𝟑
Solution: The base is 𝑎 and the power is 3 ∴ 𝑎 is being multiplied by itself 3 times
𝑎3 = 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑎
c. 𝟓𝒑𝟐
Solution: The base is 𝑝 and the power is 2 ∴ 𝑝 is being multiplied by itself 2 times. 5 is the coefficient.
5𝑝2 = 5 × 𝑝2 = 5 × 𝑝 × 𝑝
NOTE: The expressions 5𝑝2 and (5𝑝)2 are NOT equal. (5𝑝)2 suggests that everything in the brackets is
raised to the power of 2. That is, (5𝑝)2 = 5𝑝 × 5𝑝 = 5 × 𝑝 × 5 × 𝑝 = 5 × 5 × 𝑝 × 𝑝

d. 𝒎𝟐 𝒏𝟑
Solution: This is the product of two indices, that is:
𝑚 2 𝑛3 = 𝑚 2 × 𝑛 3 = 𝑚 × 𝑚 × 𝑛 × 𝑛 × 𝑛
 e. (𝒂𝒃)𝟑
Solution: The base is a product, 𝑎𝑏, that being multiplied by itself 3 times:
(𝑎𝑏)3 = 𝑎𝑏 × 𝑎𝑏 × 𝑎𝑏, but 𝑎𝑏 = 𝑎 × 𝑏
∴ (𝑎𝑏)3 = 𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 𝑏
rearranging gives: (𝑎𝑏)3 = 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑏 × 𝑏

Try these on your own!

Express the following indices in expanded form:
a. 𝑟 5
b. 3𝑏 3
c. 2𝑎2 𝑏 3 𝑐
d. 7(𝑚2 𝑛)3
e. (2𝑎𝑏 3 )2

Let’s Practice!
We have seen how to express indices in product/expanded form. Now we will try to write products using index
notation. When rewriting products in index form, it is helpful to group like terms first. Conventionally, when working
with multiple variables, they are written in alphabetical order. If your coefficient is an index term or a product,
calculate the numerical value.

Express the following products in index form:

a. 𝟒 × 𝒂 × 𝒂 × 𝒂 × 𝒂 × 𝒂
Solution: the base is a since it is repeatedly multiplied 5 times. This product is then multiplied by the
numerical factor, 4, so this is written as the coefficient: 𝟒𝒂𝟓

b. 𝟔 × 𝒂 × 𝒃 × 𝒄 × 𝒂 × 𝒃 × 𝒄 × 𝒂 × 𝒃 × 𝒄
Solution (Method 1): rearrange the expression so that like terms are next to each other:
6 × 6 × 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑏 × 𝑏 × 𝑐 × 𝑐 × 𝑐 = 62 𝑎3 𝑏3 𝑐 3 = 𝟑𝟔𝒂𝟑 𝒃𝟑 𝒄𝟑
Solution (Method 2): observe that 𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑐 = 𝑎𝑏𝑐 was repeatedly multiplied three times and hence would
form a multivariable base:
6 × 6 × (𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑐) × (𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑐) × (𝑎 × 𝑏 × 𝑐) = 6 × 6 × 𝑎𝑏𝑐 × 𝑎𝑏𝑐 × 𝑎𝑏𝑐 = 𝟑𝟔(𝒂𝒃𝒄)𝟑

c. 𝒑 × 𝒒 × 𝒑 × 𝒑 × 𝒑 × 𝒓 × 𝒒
Solution: rearrange the expression so that like terms are next to each other:
(𝑝 × 𝑝 × 𝑝 × 𝑝) × (𝑞 × 𝑞) × 𝑟 = 𝒑𝟒 𝒒𝟐 𝒓

d. 𝟑 × 𝒂 × 𝒃 × 𝒄 × 𝒃 × 𝒄 × 𝒃 × 𝒄
Solution (Method 1): group like terms then simplify:
3 × 𝑎 × (b × b × b) × (c × c × c) = 𝟑𝐚𝒃𝟑 𝒄𝟑
Solution (Method 2): 3 × 𝑎 × (𝑏 × 𝑐) × (𝑏 × 𝑐) × (𝑏 × 𝑐) = 3 × 𝑎 × 𝑏𝑐 × 𝑏𝑐 × 𝑏𝑐 = 𝟑𝒂(𝒃𝒄)𝟑
Try these on your own!
Express the following products in index form:
a. 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 × 8 × 8
b. 10 × 𝑓 × 𝑔 × 𝑔 × 𝑓 × 𝑔 × 𝑔 × 𝑓 × 𝑔 × 𝑔 × 𝑓 × 𝑔 × 𝑔
c. 7 × 7 × 7 × 𝑞 × 𝑞 × 𝑞
d. 2 × 𝑚 × 𝑛 × 𝑚 × 𝑛 × 𝑚 × 𝑛

Activity: Complete the following table for the bases:

 2 (up to the 8th power)
 3 (up to the 6th power)
 4 (up to the 5th power)
 5 (up to the 4th power)

An example is done for you:

Index Form Expanded/Product Form Value

21 2 2
22 2×2 4
23 2×2×2 8
24
25
26
27
28

Activity:
1. Write each of the following numbers in index form using every possible base:
a. 16 d. 125
b. 27 e. 64
c. 81
2. State the value of:
a. 152 1 0
f. (9)
b. 73
g. (1.5)4
0
c. 3
h. 𝑎0
1 3
d. (2) i. 122
e. 1500 j. (𝑥𝑦)0
Multiplying Algebraic Terms

When multiplying numbers or letters written in index form with the same base, we keep the base and add the powers:

𝑎𝑚 × 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑚+𝑛 (Multiplication/Product Law of Indices)

To multiply algebraic terms, we simply multiply the coefficients and then simplify the variables using the rule shown
above. The product of two algebraic terms with the same signs will be positive while the product of two terms with
opposite signs will be negative. Some examples are shown below:

a) 5𝑥 2 × 7𝑥 3
Solution: If we expand both terms we get:
5 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 × 7 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 = 5 × 7 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 × 𝑥 = 35𝑥 5
Expanding the terms and then rewriting in index form is not the most efficient method for multiplying
algebraic terms so we will use the procedure outlined above. We will multiply the coefficients to get the
coefficient of the product. Then we will apply the multiplication law of indices to determine the variable of
the product:
5𝑥 2 × 3𝑥 3 = 5 × 3 × 𝑥 2+3 = 15𝑥 5

b) −6𝑝2 × −2𝑝2
Solution: −6𝑝2 × −2𝑝2 = −6 × −2 × 𝑝2+2 = 12𝑝4

c) 3𝑎5 × 5𝑎2 × 𝑎
Solution: Remember that a positive variable that is written without a coefficient or an exponent actually has a
coefficient and exponent equal to 1. Therefore, the third term in this product is 𝑎 = 1𝑎1
3𝑎5 × 5𝑎2 × 𝑎 = 3 × 5 × 1 × 𝑎5+2+1 = 15𝑎8

d) 2𝑦 × −4𝑦 3 × 𝑦 2
Solution: 2𝑦 × −4𝑦 3 × 𝑦 2 = 2 × −4 × 1 × 𝑦1+3+2 = −8𝑦 6

e) 4𝑎2 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 6𝑏 3
Solution: The first term is this product contains 2 variables. To find the product we will add the powers of
similar bases:
4𝑎2 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 6𝑏 3 = 4 × 1 × 6 × 𝑎2+1 × 𝑏1+3 = 24𝑎3 𝑏 4
This result can be verified by expanding the terms:
4𝑎2 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 6𝑏 3 = 4 × 𝑎2 × 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 6 × 𝑏 3 = 4 × 6 × (𝑎2 × 𝑎) × (𝑏 × 𝑏 3 )
But 𝑎2 × 𝑎 = 𝑎2+1 = 𝑎3 and 𝑏 × 𝑏 3 = 𝑏1+3 = 𝑏 4 by the multiplication law of indices
Therefore, we have 4𝑎2 𝑏 × 𝑎 × 6𝑏 3 = 24 × 𝑎3 × 𝑏 4 = 24𝑎3 𝑏 4

f) 9𝑟 3 𝑠 6 × −3𝑟 2 𝑠 4
Solution: 9𝑟 3 𝑠 6 × −3𝑟 2 𝑠 4 = 9 × −3 × 𝑟 3+2 𝑠 6+4 = −27𝑟 5 𝑠10