An index, or power, is the small floating number that appears after a number or letter. Indices show how many times a number or letter has been multiplied by itself.
simplifyA fraction is simplified when there are no more common factors shared by the numerator and denominator. For example, the fraction 8/10 simplifies to 4/5 by dividing the numerator and denominator by the common factor of 2.\(c^3 \times c^2\).
To answer this question, write \(c^3\) and \(c^2\) out in full: \(c^3 = c \times c \times c\) and \(c^2 = c \times c\).
\(\mathbf{c^3} \times c^2 = \mathbf{c \times c \times c} \times c \times c\). Writing the indices out in full shows that \(c^3 \times c^2\) means \(c\) has now been multiplied by itself 5 times. This means \(c^3 \times c^2\) can be simplified to \(c^5\).
However, \(d^3 \times e^2\) cannot be simplified because \(d\) and \(e\) are different.
Example
\(b^5 脳 b^3 = b^8\)
Example - Higher
Simplify \(6a^3b^5 脳 4ab^3\)
Deal with the numbers, and then each letter separately.
\(6 \times 4 = 24.\)
Remember that \(a = a^1\). So \(a^3 脳 a = a^3 脳 a^1 = a^{3+1} = a^4.\)