Question

Simplify. Write the expression using only positive exponents. 8x^3/2x^9

Answer 1

4x
$4 \frac{1}{ {x}^{6} }$

Answer 2

The original problem is a bit vague in terms of notation.

If you mean (8x^3)/(2x^9), which says "all of '8x^3' over all of '2x^9' ", then you'll do two things

A) Divide the coefficients 8 over 2 to get 8/2 = 4. The final coefficient is 4.

B) Subtract the exponents: (large)-(small) = 9-3 = 6. The 6 is going to be an exponent in the denominator because the larger exponent 9 is in the denominator

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Therefore,
(8x^3)/(2x^9)
simplifies to
4/(x^6)

In other words,
(8x^3)/(2x^9) = 4/(x^6)
is a true equation for any number x as long as the number is not 0.