This is often how my students feel when faced with a confusing exponents problem. Even though they know the exponent rules, this question doesn’t look like what they are used to.
This is Test 1, Section 3, Question 14. (You can download the SAT Official Practice Test 1 from the College Board.)
How can you make the exponent rules apply here?
When you dealing with exponents, and want to use the handy exponent rules, you must first make sure everything has the same base.
Can you rewrite the 8 in terms of 2?
Here’s how to solve it:
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