Question

john inserts some number of parentheses into the expression shown to create a valid mathematical expression. what is the smallest possible integer value of john's expression?

Answer 1

John is working with a mathematical expression where the correct placement of parentheses and understanding of powers are crucial to finding the smallest integer value possible.

Step-by-step explanation:

John is looking to insert parentheses in a mathematical expression to obtain the smallest possible integer value. When inserting parentheses, it's essential to understand that raising an expression within parentheses to a power impacts all elements inside, including any numbers. For example, (27x3)(4x²) equals 2.1 × 10^-33 when you correctly apply the power to each term in the parentheses.

Furthermore, we can simplify expressions with constants by collecting them inside parentheses and representing them with a single symbol, such as a. This makes the expression clearer and easier to work with. Remember that the placement of parentheses greatly affects the result of the expression.