Arithmetic of Computers

Arithmetic of Computers

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Lesson 1

The Powers of Numbers

A little exponent goes a long way!

Page 27

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Your answer :
b1 = 1.
I’m afraid you don’t understand all you know about this subject! There is a value of n such that bn is always equal to 1, no matter what b is, but n in that case is not 1.
The 1st power of a number is simply defined as equal to the number itself. Thus,
21  = 2 101  = 10 b1  = b
and so forth.
We shall show later that this definition is consistent with certain operations that we perform with exponents, but for the moment you may regard it simply as an arbitrary definition.
Now return to Page 21 and choose another answer.
 

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Answer to Self-Test Question 12, Lesson 1 :
b1 = b.

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