When simplifying expressions with exponents raised to exponents, there is a shortcut to avoid expanding it out fully. You can multiply the exponents instead, so (x2)4 becomes x8, as the exponent of 4 means to multiply x2 four times, equivalent to multiplying the exponents 2 and 4 to get 8. Some examples include (x2)3 becoming x6, (t-2)2 becoming t-4, and (m4)1 remaining as m4 since the exponent is 1.