To raise a term with an exponent to another exponent, retain the base and multiply the exponents:

The greatest common factor (GCF) is the greatest factor that divides two integers.

A rational number (or fraction) is represented as a ratio between two integers, a and b, and has the form \({a \over b}\) where a is the numerator and b is the denominator. An improper fraction (\({5 \over 3} \)) has a numerator with a greater absolute value than the denominator and can be converted into a mixed number (\(1 {2 \over 3} \)) which has a whole number part and a fractional part.

To multiply terms with exponents, the base of both exponents must be the same. In this case they are so multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:

-2a⁴ x 7a⁷
(-2 x 7)a^{(4 + 7)}
-14a¹¹

The ratio of football cards to baseball cards is 3:2 and the ratio of baseball cards to basketball cards is 3:1. To solve this problem, we need the baseball card side of each ratio to be equal so we need to rewrite the ratios in terms of a common number of baseball cards. (Think of this like finding the common denominator when adding fractions.) The ratio of football to baseball cards can also be written as 9:6 and the ratio of baseball cards to basketball cards as 6:2. So, the ratio of football cards to basketball cards is football:baseball, baseball:basketball or 9:6, 6:2 which reduces to 9:2.