GMAT Prep : Exponents

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GMAT Prep : Exponents

by chetanojha » Sun May 03, 2009 8:49 am
I know how the answer is computed but not sure why. Why (a+b)^2 is done in this?

I did the following way:

[2^(4-1)]^2==> [2^3]2 ==> 2^6

Hence 2^6/2=2^5.

But that is not the correct answer?
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by deepoe » Sun May 03, 2009 9:14 am
4-1 = 3^2 = 9 - ( 3-2 ) = 8

So A

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by chetanojha » Sun May 03, 2009 9:26 am
(4-1) is an exponent which is further raised to the power of 2.
This should multiply each other and not squared? Am i correct?



deepoe wrote:4-1 = 3^2 = 9 - ( 3-2 ) = 8

So A

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by 4seasoncentre » Sun May 03, 2009 4:00 pm
[2^(4-1)]^2==> [2^3]2 ==> 2^6
This should be:

2^[(4-1)]^2==> 2^(3^2) = 2^9

So overall, numerator is 2^9
Denominator is 2^1

Solution is 2^8