Year 8 Interactive Maths - Second Edition

Index Law for Division

We know that:

In general:

This formula tells us that when dividing powers with the same base, the index in the denominator is subtracted from the index in the numerator.

This is the second index law and is known as the Index Law for Division.

Example 8

Solution:

Note:

Simplify the numerical coefficients first, and then apply the index law.

Key Terms

index law for division