Question

X to the power of four times X to the power of a equals X to the power of 12 solve for a

Answer 1

a = 8

Explanation:

This is the equation:

(x⁴)(xᵃ) = x¹²

What you need to remember here is that when you multiply the same base term (the x), you get to just add the exponents.

So because x is the same in both terms, you would add the exponents 4 and 'a', and that equals 12:

4 + a = 12

a = 12 - 4 = 8

Want to know why that works?

x⁴ physically means: x·x·x·x

x¹² physically means: x·x·x·x·x·x·x·x·x·x·x·x

So how many more x's do you need to get from 4 of them to 12 of them? 8, so x⁸.