Simplify the Expression: (a^xy)/(a^3xy) - a^2xy Using Power Rules

Question

Solve the following:

axya3xya2xy \frac{a^{xy}}{a^{3xy}}-a^{2xy}

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Simply
00:03 When dividing powers with equal bases
00:07 The power of the result equals the difference of the exponents
00:11 We'll use this formula in our exercise, and subtract the exponents
00:27 And this is the solution to the question

Step-by-Step Solution

Keep in mind that in the question there is a fraction containing identical terms in its numerator and denominator. Therefore, we can use the distributive property of division to solve the exercise:

cmcn=cmn \frac{c^m}{c^n}=c^{m-n}
We apply this to our problem and simplify the first term:

axya3xya2xy=axy3xya2xy=a2xya2xy \frac{a^{xy}}{a^{3xy}}-a^{2xy}=a^{xy-3xy}-a^{2xy}=a^{-2xy}-a^{2xy}

In the second step, calculate the result of the subtraction operation in the exponent to obtain:

a2xya2xy a^{-2xy}-a^{2xy}

Therefore, the correct answer is D.

Answer

a2xya2xy a^{-2xy}-a^{2xy}