In this section, we will begin working with variable expressions containing exponents. Remember that an exponent indicates repeated multiplication of the same quantity. You have seen that when you com...In this section, we will begin working with variable expressions containing exponents. Remember that an exponent indicates repeated multiplication of the same quantity. You have seen that when you combine like terms by adding and subtracting, you need to have the same base with the same exponent. But when you multiply and divide, the exponents may be different, and sometimes the bases may be different, too. We’ll derive the properties of exponents by looking for patterns in several examples.