Value Comparison with Variable a: Finding the Largest When a>1

Question

Which value is the largest?

given that a>1 .

Video Solution

Solution Steps

00:00 Identify the largest value
00:03 When dividing powers with equal bases
00:07 The power of the result equals the difference between the exponents
00:11 We'll apply this formula to our exercise and subtract the exponents
00:17 We'll use this method to solve all sections
00:57 A number with a negative exponent turns the numerator into the denominator
01:02 We'll identify the largest exponent
01:16 This is the solution

Step-by-Step Solution

Note that in all options there are fractions where both numerator and denominator have terms with identical bases, therefore we will use the division law between terms with identical bases to solve the exercise:

cmcn=cmn \frac{c^m}{c^n}=c^{m-n}

Let's apply it to the problem, first we'll simplify each of the suggested options using the above law (options in order):

a4a4=a4(4)=a4+4=a8 \frac{a^4}{a^{-4}}=a^{4-(-4)}=a^{4+4}=a^8 a10a9=a109=a1=a \frac{a^{10}}{a^9}=a^{10-9}=a^1=a a4a1=a4(1)=a4+1=a5 \frac{a^4}{a^{-1}}=a^{4-(-1)}=a^{4+1}=a^5 a6a7=a67=a1 \frac{a^6}{a^7}=a^{6-7}=a^{-1}

where we also used the fact that any number to the power of 1 equals the number itself, meaning that:

b1=b b^1=b

Back to the problem, given that:

a>1

therefore the option with the largest value will be the one where a a has the largest exponent (for emphasis - a positive exponent is greater than a negative exponent),

meaning the option:a8 a^8 above is correct, it came from option A in the answers,

therefore answer A is correct.

Answer

a4a4 \frac{a^4}{a^{-4}}