Final answer:
A, where 8 is the base and 2 is the exponent. This represents the mathematical operation of squaring, which involves multiplying the base by itself as many times as indicated by the exponent.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is option A. When you see an expression like 8^2, this indicates an exponentiation where 8 is the base and 2 is the exponent. This means that you will multiply the base (8) by itself as many times as the exponent indicates, which in this case is 2 times:
82 = 8 x 8 = 64
This type of mathematical operation is known as squaring since the exponent is 2. Remember, the exponent indicates how many times to use the base in a multiplication. It does not refer to how many zeroes to add, which is a common misconception with powers of ten.
Also, when multiplying two numbers with the same base, the exponents are added, not the bases themselves. Moreover, squaring a number does not mean to simply double it or add the number to itself. Therefore, squaring a number involves multiplying it by itself one time.
An exponent, or a power, is mathematical shorthand for repeated multiplications. For example, the exponent "2" means to multiply the base for that exponent by itself. In this case, the base is 8 and the exponent is 2, so we need to multiply 8 by itself: 8 × 8 = 64. Therefore, 8 raised to the power of 2 is 64.