-
Introduction
View the activity introduction for more information on the topic
-
Read aloud
Read the question aloud
-
Accessibility
Open the accessibility toolbar to change fonts and contrast, choose a different language, use a ruler and more
This activity is about the division of algebraic terms with powers.
Example
Simplify:
10a2b5 |
15a3b2 |
Answer
Remember what 10a2b5 and 15a3b2 mean and divide them by subtracting the relevant indices.
We get:
10 x |
15 x a x |
Cancel down a matching number of a terms from the top of the fraction with a terms from the bottom. Similarly with b terms.
This leaves us with:
10 x b x b x b |
15 x a |
which reduces by dividing top and bottom by 5 to
2b3 |
3a |
However, we need not write out our method like this each time.
Remember the rules of indices for division:
am ÷ an = am-n
In the example above, we had b5 ÷ b2 = b5 - 2 = b3.
Let's try some questions now.
Question
/ 10Mr Shepherd
Do you want to skip questions and finish?
Hold up, it looks like there may be an issue with your spelling. Why not try it again?
You need to check your answer before you proceed. Are you sure you want to skip?
Teacher explanation