Exponents Are Instructions, Not Decorations

Exponents and radicals are compact instructions, not ornaments hung on a base. The points leak in four predictable places: spreading a power across a sum, misreading a negative or fractional exponent, reaching for the wrong combine rule, and reporting a value the item never asked for.

8 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · a power spreads over products, not sums · v1