Middle school teacher here, and this is driving me crazy! Thanks!
In: 2
The left side of the equation has two terms, joined by a plus sign.
The number of terms just happens to be the exponential base of each term as well, `2`.
So the final addition, of `two` instances of the exponential term, has the equivalent effect of multiplying that exponential term by `2`.
In other words:
2^9 + 2^9 = 2 * ( 2^9 ) = 2^1 * 2^9 = 2^10
You’d find the same property in these equations:
3^9 + 3^9 + 3^9 = 3^10 (three terms)
4^9 + 4^9 + 4^9 + 4^9 = 4^10 (four terms)
… etc
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