Answer:

Step-by-step explanation:
In the question, we're given that the notation
produces a number
less than the product of
and
raised to the
power. Let the number produced be
. As a mathematical equation, we can write this production as 
For
, we can assign:
Substituting these values into
, we get:

Add 2 to both sides:

Take the square root of both sides:

For
, there are two cases:

Therefore, we have:

The only answer choice applicable is
.