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

To simplify this fraction, first find the greatest common factor between them. The factors of 24 are [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24] and the factors of 48 are [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48]. They share 8 factors [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24] making 24 their greatest common factor (GCF).

Next, divide both numerator and denominator by the GCF:

\( \frac{24}{48} \) = \( \frac{\frac{24}{24}}{\frac{48}{24}} \) = \( \frac{1}{2} \)

The distributive property for multiplication helps in solving expressions like a(b + c). It specifies that the result of multiplying one number by the sum or difference of two numbers can be obtained by multiplying each number individually and then totaling the results: a(b + c) = ab + ac. For example, 4(10-5) = (4 x 10) - (4 x 5) = 40 - 20 = 20.

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