Power of a Quotient Property

Suppose \(a\) and \(b\) are nonzero real numbers and \(x\) and \(y\) are any integers,

$$\large{{\left( {{a \over b}} \right)^x} = {{{a^x}} \over {{b^x}}}}$$

Description: To determine the power of a quotient, apply the exponent to both the numerator and the denominator individually. This means that you distribute the outer exponent to the exponents of both the numerator and the denominator.

$${\left( {{2 \over 3}} \right)^x} = {{{2^x}} \over {{3^x}}}$$

$${\left( {{{{5^x}} \over {{8^y}}}} \right)^3} = {{{5^{3x}}} \over {{8^{3y}}}}$$