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Fractional Exponents

Mike McGarry
Lesson by Mike McGarry
Magoosh Expert
Summary
The lesson delves into the concept of fractional exponents, elucidating their relationship with roots and offering strategic insights for simplifying expressions involving such exponents.
  • Fractional exponents represent roots, with an exponent of 1/2 signifying a square root, 1/3 a cube root, and so forth.
  • The lesson demonstrates how to solve for a variable when given an expression with a fractional exponent, using the example of 2 to the power of one-half.
  • It introduces a method for dealing with fractional exponents that have numerators other than one, illustrating how to simplify expressions by either taking the root before raising to a power or vice versa.
  • A practice problem is provided to apply the concept of choosing the most efficient method for simplification, emphasizing the strategy of making numbers smaller before making them bigger.
  • The rules discussed apply to positive numbers and, with certain conditions, to negative numbers as well.
Chapters
00:03
Understanding Fractional Exponents
03:33
Simplifying Expressions with Fractional Exponents
04:47
Strategic Approaches to Fractional Exponents
06:05
Applying Rules to Positive and Negative Numbers