Indices, also known as powers or exponents, are a shorthand way of writing multiplication of the same number or variable multiple times. An index is a small number that tells us how many times a term has been multiplied by itself. For example, in the expression 2^4, 4 is the index or power, and 2 is the base. The plural of index is indices.
Indices are used in algebra to represent numbers in a compressed form. They are also used to simplify calculations or expressions involving powers of the same base. There are several laws of indices, including multiplying, dividing, power of 0, brackets, negative and fractional powers. These laws are used while performing algebraic operations on indices and while solving algebraic expressions.
In summary, indices are a way of writing multiplication of the same number or variable multiple times. They are used in algebra to represent numbers in a compressed form and simplify calculations or expressions involving powers of the same base.
