How do you evaluate the expression #(18 xx 10^4) -: (6 xx 10^3)#?

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Answer 1 · 2017-02-13T22:40:16

First, we can rewrite this expression as:

#(18 xx 10^4)/(6 xx 10^3)#

Which we can again rewrite as:

#18/6 xx 10^4/10^3 = 3 xx 10^4/10^3#

We can now divide the 10s terms using this rule for exponents:

#x^color(red)(a)/x^color(blue)(b) = x^(color(red)(a)-color(blue)(b))#

#3 xx 10^color(red)(4)/10^color(blue)(3) = 3 xx 10^(color(red)(4)-color(blue)(3)) = 3 xx 10^1#