It looks like they're multiplied, then you can simply add the exponents,
b⁸ * b⁴ = b⁸⁺⁴ = b¹²
remember, b⁸=b*b*b*b*b*b*b*b and b⁴=b*b*b*b
so b⁸ * b⁴ = b*b*b*b*b*b*b*b * b*b*b*b = b¹²
Multiply it out to get 5/7*1/9=5/63. This is an exact value of the product.
