A–2 Exponents

When we write 104, we mean that you multiply 10 by itself four times:
104 = 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 = 10,000. The superscript 4 is called an exponent, and
10 is said to be raised to the fourth power. Any number or symbol can be
raised to a power. Special names are used when the exponent is 2 (a2 is “a squared”)
or 3 (a3 is “a cubed”). For any other power, we say an is “a to the nth power.” If the
exponent is 1, it is usually dropped: a1 = a, since no multiplication is involved.
The rules for multiplying numbers expressed as powers are as follows: first,
Aan BAam B = an + m. (A;1)
That is, the exponents are added. To see why, consider the result of the multipli-
cation of 33 by 34:
A33 BA34 B = (3)(3)(3) * (3)(3)(3)(3) = (3)7.
Here the sum of the exponents is 3 + 4 = 7, so rule A–1 works. Notice that
this rule works only if the base numbers (a in Eq. A–1) are the same. Thus we
cannot use the rule of summing exponents for A63 BA52 B; these numbers would
have to be written out. However, if the base numbers are different but the expo-
nents are the same, we can write a second rule:
Aan BAbn B = (ab)n. (A;2)
For example, A5 B A6 B = (30) since
3 3 3

(5)(5)(5)(6)(6)(6) = (30)(30)(30).
2
The third rule involves a power raised to another power: Aa3 B means Aa3 BAa3 B,
which is equal to a3 + 3 = a6. The general rule is then
m
Aan B = anm. (A;3)
In this case, the exponents are multiplied.
Negative exponents are used for reciprocals. Thus,
1 1
= a –1, = a –3,
a a3
and so on. The reason for using negative exponents is to allow us to use the
multiplication rules given above. For example, Aa5 BAa –3 B means
(a)(a)(a)(a)(a)
= a2,
(a)(a)(a)
after canceling 3 of the a’s. Rule A–1 gives us the same result:
Aa5 BAa –3 B = a5 - 3 = a2.
What does an exponent of zero mean? That is, what is a0? Any number
raised to the zeroth power is defined as being equal to 1:
a0 = 1.
This definition is used because it follows from the rules for adding exponents.
For example,
a3a –3 = a3 - 3 = a0 = 1.
But does a3a –3 actually equal 1? Yes, because
a3
a3a –3 = = 1.
a3 1
Fractional exponents are 1
used to represent1
roots. For example, a 2 means the

square root of a; that is, a = 1a . Similarly, a means the cube root of a, and so
2 3

on. The fourth root of a means that if you multiply the fourth root of a by itself
four times, you again get a:
1 4
Aa4 B = a.
1 4 4
This is consistent with rule A–3 since Aa4 B ⫽ a 4 = a1 = a.

A-2 APPENDIX A Mathematical Review