Exponents Part 3 - Product Rule for Exponents

Sick of ads?​ Sign up for MathVids Premium
Taught by YourMathGal
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
9267 views | 2 ratings
Part of video series
Meets NCTM Standards:
Errors in this video:

At the end of the video, 7^5 * 7^6 should equal 7^11

Lesson Summary:

In this lesson, we learn the first law of exponents called the product rule. When multiplying exponents with the same base, we write the base once and add the exponents. The transcript provides examples with variables as well as numbers, and also shows how to group coefficients to simplify the problem. It is important to remember that the rules for multiplying with exponents are not the same as the rules for adding like terms.

Lesson Description:

Develops the Product Rule for Exponents

More free YouTube videos by Julie Harland are organized at http://yourmathgal.com

Questions answered by this video:
  • What is the product rule in the laws of exponents?
  • How do you use the product rule for exponents to evaluate variable expressions?
  • What is x^3 * x^4?
  • What does 5^4 * 5^3 equal?
  • What is m^20 * m^40?
  • Why do you add the exponents in the product rule for exponents?
  • How do you evaluate x^5 * x^8, x^10 * x, x^2 * x^6 * x^4, and x^2 * y^3?
  • Why can you only add exponents when the base is the same?
  • What does 11^10 * 11^2 * 11 equal?
  • How do you simplify 3x^2 y * 4x^3 y^5 using the product rule of exponents?
  • What does (2x^4 m^2)(-3x^5 m^3)(2x^10) simplify to?
  • How is multiplying variables with exponents different than adding like terms?
  • How is 2x^3 + 4x^3 different than 2x^3 * 4x^3?
  • How is 3x^2 + 2x^3 different than 3x^2 * 2x^3?
  • Why does 7^5 * 7^6 NOT equal 49^11?
  • Staff Review

    • Currently 3.0/5 Stars.
    The product rule for exponents is explained in this lesson. Some examples are shown, and the product rule is discovered. Then, many example problems are done using this rule. By evaluating and simplifying many expressions, the product rule of exponents is shown and explained over and over. Also, the common misconception that adding like terms works the same as multiplying variables and using the product rule is explained.