Summarize the following:
When you see an exponent of two, you know that you need to square the number. To square a whole number, you multiply it by itself. For example: 52 = 5 5 = 25 To square a fraction, you multiply the fraction by itself. Another way to think about it is to multiply the numerator by itself and then the denominator by itself. For example: (5/2)2 = 5/2 5/2 or (52/22). Squaring each number yields (25/4). The actual order that you multiply these numbers by themselves doesn't matter as long as you have squared both numbers. To keep things simple, start with the numerator: simply multiply it by itself. Then, multiply the denominator by itself. The numerator will stay on top of the fraction and the denominator will stay at the bottom of the fraction. For example: (5/2)2 = (5 x 5/2 x 2) = (25/4). the fraction to finish. When working with fractions, the last step is always to reduce the fraction to its most simple form or turn the improper fraction into a mixed number. For our example, 25/4 is an improper fraction because the numerator is larger than the denominator. To convert to a mixed number, divide 4 into 25. It goes in 6 times (6 x 4 = 24) with 1 leftover. Therefore, the mixed number is 6 1/4.
Understand how to square whole numbers. Realize that squaring fractions works the same way. Multiply the numerator by itself and the denominator by itself. Simplify