need help figuring this out.

[coldcrankcase]

Hello all! I'm reading through a textbook from my younger years and I've come across a discrepancy. the equation is

(3x[sup:1udb8iic]2[/sup:1udb8iic])[sup:1udb8iic]-2[/sup:1udb8iic]

what do you come up with? i know this should be a no-brainer for the lot of you, but i want the best answers possible without my being laughed at for asking...

thanks all!!!

 

[Loren]

Use the two basic definitions ... $\displaystyle a^{-b} = \frac{1}{a^b}$ and (a[sup:fn0b8ei6]x[/sup:fn0b8ei6])[sup:fn0b8ei6]y[/sup:fn0b8ei6] = a[sup:fn0b8ei6]xy[/sup:fn0b8ei6].

It doesn't matter which you use first. If you want to eliminate the negative sign...

$\displaystyle (3x^2)^{-2} = \frac{1}{(3x^2)^2}=\frac{1}{3^2x^4}$ etc.

If you want to use the second definition first...
$\displaystyle (3x^2)^{-2} = 3^{-2}x^{-4} = \frac{1}{3^2}\cdot \frac{1}{x^4}$ etc.