Chapter 6
Exploring Exponents
IN THIS CHAPTER
Working with positive and negative exponents
Recognizing the power of powers
Operating on exponents
Investigating scientific notation
In the big picture of mathematics, exponents are a fairly new development. The principle behind exponents has always been there, but mathematicians had to first agree to use algebraic symbols such as x and y for values, before they could agree to the added shorthand of superscripts to indicate how many times the values were to be used. As a result, instead of writing 
, you get to write the x with a superscript of 
. In any case, be grateful. Exponents make life a lot easier.
This chapter introduces to you how exponents can be used (and abused), how to recognize scientific notation on a calculator, and how eeeeeasy it is to use e. What’s this e business? The letter e was named for the mathematician Leonhard ...
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