Zero Exponent - with a Pattern!
Many school books just "announce" the rule or the fact that any number to zero exponent is one (excluding zero to zeroth power, to be exact). I like to call this "announced" mathematics - it's math without justifications, without explaining the "whys".
In the video below, I show you a better way, where we approach it through a simple pattern. This justifies the rule and makes it logical, instead of just a piece of "announced" mathematics without proof.
Zero Exponent video
I also show another way of justifying it, which has to do with the shortcut for multiplication of powers with the same base. For example:
Following the shortcut for multiplying powers with the same base,
x7 x0 = x7, because you can add the exponents 0 + 7 = 7.
This is an equation where x7 is multiplied by x0, and the result is x7. What must x0 therefore be? It must equal one.
See also my earlier article on this topic: Negative or zero exponent.
In the video below, I show you a better way, where we approach it through a simple pattern. This justifies the rule and makes it logical, instead of just a piece of "announced" mathematics without proof.
Zero Exponent video
I also show another way of justifying it, which has to do with the shortcut for multiplication of powers with the same base. For example:
Following the shortcut for multiplying powers with the same base,
x7 x0 = x7, because you can add the exponents 0 + 7 = 7.
This is an equation where x7 is multiplied by x0, and the result is x7. What must x0 therefore be? It must equal one.
See also my earlier article on this topic: Negative or zero exponent.
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