Why X to the power of 0 always equals 1 - 03/16/03 01:50 AM
Chem wanted me to post this:
Mathematicians *define* x^0 = 1 in order to make the laws of exponents work even when the exponents can no longer be thought of as repeated multiplication. For example, (x^3)(x^5) = x^8 because you can add exponents. In the same way (x^0)(x^2) should be equal to x^2 by adding exponents. But that means that x^0 must be 1 because when you multiply x^2 by it, the result is still x^2. Only x^0 = 1 makes sense here.
Mathematicians *define* x^0 = 1 in order to make the laws of exponents work even when the exponents can no longer be thought of as repeated multiplication. For example, (x^3)(x^5) = x^8 because you can add exponents. In the same way (x^0)(x^2) should be equal to x^2 by adding exponents. But that means that x^0 must be 1 because when you multiply x^2 by it, the result is still x^2. Only x^0 = 1 makes sense here.