In what follows, two methods of dealing with fractions will be illustrated. The student should select the method that is easiest for him or her. 1.3056 Fractions have a special rewriting rule that sometimes allows an expression to be transformed to a simpler expression. If a similar phrase appears in both the numerator and the denominator of the fraction and these similar phrases are connected at the highest level by multiplication, then the similar phrases may be canceled. A number of rewriting rules exist within algebra to simplify a with a shorthand notation.
Exponential notation is an example of a shorthand notational scheme.
If a series of similar algebraic phrases are multiplied times one another, the expression may be rewritten with the phrase raised to a power. The power is the number of times the phrase is multiplied by itself and is written as a superscript of the phrase. Some special rules apply to exponents. A negative exponent may be transformed to a positive exponent if the base is changed to one divided by the base. The following examples illustrate this principle.