Question

Lola says these two expressions have the same value.

Expression A
Expression B
Left-bracket (StartFraction a Over b EndFraction) Superscript negative 4 Baseline Right-bracket Superscript 0
Left-bracket (StartFraction a Over b EndFraction) Superscript 0 Baseline Right-bracket Superscript negative 4

Which explains whether Lola is correct?

Answer 1

Answer: Lola is incorrect. The two expressions have different values.

Expression A is (a/b)^(-4)^0 which is equal to 1, since any non-zero number raised to the power of 0 is 1.

Expression B is (a/b)^0^(-4) which is (a/b)^(-4) which is the reciprocal of (a/b)^4. They are different values.

In general, it's important to be careful with the order of operations when working with exponents and to be aware of the difference between a^b^c and (a^b)^c or a^(b*c) depending on the context.

Explanation: