12345
of 5

Exponents Rule #2

TRY IT:

Simplify (sometimes they say "reduce")

( 12 x^6 w z^3 ) / ( 44 x^4 w^2 z^11 )

What happens if everyone on the top cancels out?

Let's see...

( 2 x^3 w^9 ) / ( 8 x^4 w^20 ) = 1 / ( 4 x w^11 ) We leave a 1 as a placeholder.

YOUR TURN:

Simplify

( 5 x^10 z^4 w ) / ( 10 x^20 z^6 w^9 )

OK, here's the official rule:

Exponent Rule #2: a^n / a^m = a^(n-m)