The ratio of football cards to baseball cards is 9:2 and the ratio of baseball cards to basketball cards is 9:1. 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 81:18 and the ratio of baseball cards to basketball cards as 18:2. So, the ratio of football cards to basketball cards is football:baseball, baseball:basketball or 81:18, 18:2 which reduces to 81:2.

If a single cook can bake 2 large cakes per hour and the kitchen is available for 4 hours, a single cook can bake 2 x 4 = 8 large cakes during that time. 30 large cakes are needed for the party so \( \frac{30}{8} \) = 3\(\frac{3}{4}\) cooks are needed to bake the required number of large cakes.

If a single cook can bake 14 small cakes per hour and the kitchen is available for 4 hours, a single cook can bake 14 x 4 = 56 small cakes during that time. 350 small cakes are needed for the party so \( \frac{350}{56} \) = 6\(\frac{1}{4}\) cooks are needed to bake the required number of small cakes.

Because you can't employ a fractional cook, round the number of cooks needed for each type of cake up to the next whole number resulting in 4 + 7 = 11 cooks.

To convert a negative exponent to a positive exponent, calculate the positive exponent then take the reciprocal.

A number with an exponent (b^e) consists of a base (b) raised to a power (e). The exponent indicates the number of times that the base is multiplied by itself. A base with an exponent of 1 equals the base (b¹ = b) and a base with an exponent of 0 equals 1 ( (b⁰ = 1).

The equation for this sequence is:

a_n = a_n-1 + 4(n - 1)

where n is the term's order in the sequence, a_n is the value of the term, and a_n-1 is the value of the term before a_n. This makes the next number:

a₆ = a₅ + 4(6 - 1)
a₆ = 41 + 4(5)
a₆ = 61