John's error is assuming that any number to the zero power equals 1. The exception is when the number is zero itself, in which case the answer would be undefined.
Carol's error is incorrectly simplifying the expression to 2.
The correct answer is 1.
To simplify the expression, we use the rule of exponents that says a^(m-n) is equal to a^m / a^n.
So, in this case, we have 2^3 / 2^2 = 2^(3-2) = 2^1 = 2.
Students were given the task to fully simplify:
John believes the answer was 1 as any number to the zero power (except
) equals 1.
Carol believes that the answer is
since
and for the exponents
and
What is John's error?
What is Carol's error?
What is the correct answer. Show your work.
Math
1 answer