To add or subtract terms with exponents, both the base and the exponent must be the same. In this case they are so add the coefficients and retain the base and exponent:

8a⁶ + 2a⁶
(8 + 2)a⁶
10a⁶

1

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:

z⁷ x 3z²
(1 x 3)z^{(7 + 2)}
3z⁹

The first few multiples of 3 are [3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30] and the first few multiples of 5 are [5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50]. The first few multiples they share are [15, 30, 45, 60, 75] making 15 the smallest multiple 3 and 5 have in common.

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

\( \frac{8a^8}{6a^3} \)
\( \frac{8}{6} \) a^{(8 - 3)}
1\(\frac{1}{3}\)a⁵