Lesson 8-1

Multiplication Properties
of Exponents
Today’s Goals
Find products of
●

Explore  Products of Powers monomials.

Find the power of
●

Online Activity Use an interactive tool to complete the Explore. a power.

Find the power of
●
a product.
 INQUIRY How can you determine the product
of two powers am and ap? Today’s Vocabulary
monomial

Learn  Product of Powers

A monomial is a number, a variable, or a product of a number and one Think About It!
or more variables. It has only one term. The term a4 is a monomial. An How does the process
expression that involves division by a variable is not a monomial. The for simplifying b2 · b4
ab
term __
​​  c  ​​ is not a monomial. differ from simplifying
b2 + b4?
Key Concept • Product of Powers
Sample answer: To
Words To multiply two powers that have the same base, add their simplify b2 · b4, you
exponents.
add the exponents. You
Symbols For any real number a and any integers m and p, cannot simplify b2 + b4
am · ap = am+p. because you cannot
Examples b 2 · b 4 = b 2+4 or b 6; d 3 · d 7 = d 3+7 or d 10 add two variables with
different exponents.
Example 1  Product of Powers
Study Tip
Simplify each expression. Terminology Recall that
a. ​​(3n4)​​ (​​ 4n7)​​ for the expression b2, b
4 7 is called the base and
​​(3n4)​​ (​​ 4n7)​​ = (3 · 4) ( n · n ) 
Group coefficients and the 2 is called the
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

variables. exponent or power.

= (3 · 4) ( n4+7 ) Product of Powers

= 12n11 Simplify.
Think About It!
b. ​​(7xy 2)​​ (​​ 2x4y 3)​​ What properties allow
4 2 3
​​(7xy2)​​ (​​ 2x4y3)​​ = (7 · 2) ( x · x ) ( y · y ) Group coefficients and you to group the
coefficients and the
variables.
variables in the first
= (7 · 2) ( x1+4 )( y2+3 ) Product of Powers step of each solution?
= 14x5y5 Simplify.
Sample answer:
Commutative Property
Check  of Multiplication,
Simplify (​​ 7n7)​​ (​​ -7n)​​. Simplify ​​(11x6y6)​​ (​​ xy9)​​. Associative Property of
-49n8 11x7y15 Multiplication

Lesson 8-1 • Multiplication Properties of Exponents 431

THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED FOR INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTED.
 Your Notes
Problem-Solving Tip
Identify Subgoals
Before you can find the
distance that US 708
travels, you need to
write the rate and time
in scientific notation. To
convert a number from
standard form to
scientific notation,
rewrite it as a number a
such that 1 ≤ a < 10
multiplied by a power of
10. Thus, 100 in scientific
notation is 1 × 102.
Conversely, 1 × 102 in
standard form is 100.
Study Tip
Assumptions Assuming
that US 708 travels at
exactly 2,700,000 miles
per hour for the entire
year allows us to
approximate the distance
it will travel. While
2,700,000 miles per hour
is only an approximation
of the star’s speed, and
the speed may not be
constant, using this
constant rate allows for a
reasonable estimate.
432 Module 8 • Exponents and Roots
THIS MATERIAL IS PROVIDED FOR INDIVIDUAL EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED OR FURTHER DISTRIBUTED.
Example 2  Product of Powers and Scientific
Notation
STARS The fastest recorded star in the Milky Way galaxy is US 708,
which travels 2,700,000 miles per hour. How far does US 708 travel
in 1 year? Write your answer in scientific notation and round to the
nearest tenth. (Hint: 1 year = 8760 hours)
Step 1   Convert the speed of US 708 and the number of hours in a
year to scientific notation.
Speed of US 708
2,700,000 = 2.7 × 1,000,000 1 ≤ 2.7 < 10
106
= 2.7 × 1,000,000 = 106
Hours in a Year
8760 = 8.76 × 1000 1 ≤ 8.76 < 10
3
= 8.76 × 10 1000 = 103
Step 2 Use the formula d = rt to find approximately how far US 708
travels in a year.
d = rt distance = rate ∙ time
d = ( 2.7 × 106 ) × (8.76 × 103) 
r = 2.7 × 106 mph,
t = 8.76 × 103 hrs
6 3
= (2.7 × 8.76) × ( 10 × 10 ) Comm. and Assoc. Properties
= 23.652 × (106 × 103) Multiply.
= 23.652 × 106+3 Product of Powers
= 23.652 × 109 Simplify.
= 2.3652 × 101 × 109 23.652 = 2.3652 × 101
= 2.3652 × 101+9 Product of Powers
10
= 2.3652 × 10 Simplify.
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education
≈ 2.4 × 1010 Round to the nearest tenth.
Check 
COMPUTERS Typically, a 4K computer monitor describes a screen with
a resolution of 3840 × 2160. This means that the display’s width is
3840 pixels and the height is 2160 pixels. How many pixels are there
on a typical 4K computer monitor? C
A. 2.2 × 103 pixels
B. 3.8 × 103 pixels
C. 8.3 × 106 pixels
D. 8.3 × 107 pixels
Go Online You can complete an Extra Example online.