# Math Help - simplify an expression

1. ## simplify an expression

need help with this one:

((^3(a^4 * b)^0.5)) / ((ab^3)) ) * ((^4(a^3 * b)^0.5) / ((a^3 * b)))

a, b > 0

and i also wonder how i write the equations better, more symbols and stuff like that.

2. Why not learn to post in symbols? You can use LaTeX tags

3. [tex]((^3sqrt{a^4 * b)}) / ((ab^3)) ) * ((^4sqrt{a^3 * b} / ((a^3 * b)))[\math]

4. that did not went so well :/

5. Originally Posted by paulaa
$((^3sqrt{a^4 * b)}) / ((ab^3)) ) * ((^4sqrt{a^3 * b} / ((a^3 * b)))$
Forward stroke to close the tag Do you happen to mean the following?

$\dfrac{\sqrt[3]{a^4b}}{ab^3} \times \dfrac{\sqrt[4]{a^3b}}{a^3b}$

LaTeX will come better with practice

If so remember that the nth root is also the fractional power: $\sqrt[3]{a} = a^{1/3}$

You can also use the rule that says (for $ab \geq 0$): $\sqrt[a]{bc} = \sqrt[a]{b} \times \sqrt[a]{c}$

6. hah yees that was wat i meant, thx :

7. Originally Posted by e^(i*pi)
Forward stroke to close the tag Do you happen to mean the following?

$\dfrac{\sqrt[3]{a^4b}}{ab^3} \times \dfrac{\sqrt[4]{a^3b}}{a^3b}$

LaTeX will come better with practice

If so remember that the nth root is also the fractional power: $\sqrt[3]{a} = a^{1/3}$

You can also use the rule that says (for $ab \geq 0$): $\sqrt[a]{bc} = \sqrt[a]{b} \times \sqrt[a]{c}$
Originally Posted by paulaa
hah yees that was wat i meant, thx :
You can always double click someone's latex code to see what they typed, it's much the same method I used to learn it

Back to the question in hand:

Once you distribute the fractional power and used the laws of exponents it should reduce to $\dfrac{a^{4/3}b^{1/3}}{a^1b^3} \times \dfrac{a^{3/4}b^{1/4}}{a^3b} = a^{(4/3 - 1)}b^{(1/3 - 3)} \times a^{(3/4 -3)}b^{(1/4-1)}$