297 Source: NASA. 5.1 Rules for Exponents 5.2 Addition and Subtrac- tion of Polynomials 5.3 Multiplication of Polynomials 5.4 Special Products 5.5 Integer Exponents and the Quotient Rule 5.6 Division of Polynomials Digital images were first sent between New York and London by cable in the early 1920s. Unfortunately, the transmission time was 3 hours and the quality was poor. Digital photography was developed further by NASA in the 1960s because ordinary pic- tures were subject to interference when transmitted through space. Today, digital pic- tures remain crystal clear even if they travel millions of miles. The following digital picture shows the planet Mars. Whether they are taken with a webcam, with a smartphone, or by the Mars rover, digital images comprise tiny units called pixels, which are represented by numbers. As a result, mathematics plays an important role in digital images. In this chapter we illustrate some of the ways mathematics is used to describe digital pictures (see Example 4 and Exercise 80 in Section 5.4). We also discuss how mathematics is used to model things such as heart rate, computer sales, motion of the planets, and interest on money. 5 Polynomials and Exponents If you want to do something, do it! —PLAUTUS IS B N 1- 25 6- 49 08 2- 2 Beginning and Intermediate Algebra with Applications & Visualization, Third edition, by Gary K. Rockswold and Terry A. Krieger. Published by Addison Wesley. Copyright © 2013 by Pearson Education, Inc. 298 CHAPTER 5 POLYNOMIALS AND EXPONENTS When evaluating expressions, evaluate exponents before performing addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, or negation. 5.1 Rules for Exponents Review of Bases and Exponents ● Zero Exponents ● The Product Rule ● Power Rules A LOOK INTO MATH N Electronic devices such as tablet computers and smartphones store information as bits. A bit is either a 0 or a 1, and a string of 8 bits is called a byte. In the 1970s, IBM devel- oped punch cards made out of paper that could hold up to 120 bits of information. Today, many computer hard drives can hold more than 1 terabyte of information; that’s more than 8,000,000,000,000 bits! In mathematics, we often use exponents to express such large numbers. In this section, we discuss the rules for exponents. Review of Bases and Exponents The expression 53 is an exponential expression with base 5 and exponent 3. Its value is 5 # 5 # 5 = 125. In general, bn is an exponential expression with base b and exponent n. If n is a natural number, it indicates the number of times the base b is to be multiplied with itself. Exponent T bn = b # b # b # g # b Base c n times v STUDY TIP Exponents occur throughout mathematics. Because expo- nents are so important, this section is essential for your success in mathematics. It takes practice, so set aside some extra time. EVALUATING EXPRESSIONS When evaluating expressions, use the following order of operations. 1. .