Final answer:
The correct answer is C. x⁴⁰a²⁴, which simply combines the terms with different bases without changing the exponents according to the rules of exponents in mathematics.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is Mathematics, specifically dealing with the power rule for exponents. In this case, you are asked to create an equivalent expression that uses the power rule for the expression x⁴⁰ * a²⁴.
When multiplying expressions with the same base, you simply add the exponents according to the power rule (xa * xb = xa+b). However, since x and a have different bases, we do not combine their exponents; instead, we write the expression with each base and its respective exponent. Therefore, the correct answer is C. x⁴⁰a²⁴, which just combines the two terms without altering the exponents.