What does multiplying powers with the same base mean?

Answer 1

Let's start by breaking it down;

The base is the standard whole number in which we are going to multiply to the X power. Here, the X: Xy.

The power, or exponent, often displayed in superscript (or small and to the top right of the base number, as displayed above), and occasionally using a caret: X^Y, or rarely as a double multiplication symbol X**Y.

Here's an example:

24 * 25

As we learned, the base here is 2, and the powers are 4 and 5.

When you are presented with an equation like this, the purpose is generally to not find out what all of that equals, but to combine the two sides into one, like algebra!

To do this, you could multiply it out and do it all the long way, but there's a trick! All you have to do is simply add the two exponents.

24 * 25 is the same as 24 + 5, which would equal 29.