Simplify
36x^2 y^4 a^-2
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72a x^-1 y
^ means power
I answreed this above.
To simplify the expression:
We can start by simplifying the coefficient (numbers) in the numerator (top) and denominator (bottom). In this case, the numerator is 36, and the denominator is 72. Both 36 and 72 are divisible by 36, so we can simplify the coefficient to 1 in both the numerator and denominator.
Now, let's simplify the variables. In the numerator, we have x^2, y^4, and a^-2. In the denominator, we have a, x^-1, and y.
To simplify the variables with the same base (letters), we need to combine their exponents using the laws of exponents. Here's how:
x^2 / x^-1 = (x^(2-(-1))) = x^3 (when dividing with the same base, subtract the exponents)
y^4 / y = (y^(4-1)) = y^3
a^-2 / a = (a^(-2-1)) = a^-3
Now that we have simplified the exponents, the expression becomes:
1 * x^3 * y^3 * a^-3 / 1
Since we have a quotient (division), we can simplify it further by subtracting the exponents:
x^3 / 1 = x^3 (any number divided by 1 remains the same)
y^3 / 1 = y^3
a^-3 / 1 = a^-3
Therefore, the final simplified expression is:
x^3 * y^3 * a^-3