Exponent Rules

I've grown tired of kids blindly following rules.  Mine have the tendency to be the worst because they have always been really good at playing school.  So we went for a different approach to exponent rules this week. 

Prerequisites:  Basic understanding of exponents

Instructions:  Choose a rule that you would like to prove (read: demonstrate why it is a rule).  As you are able to demonstrate an exponent rule, move downstream to the next group and help with that rule finally working on rule #8. 

Here's the list...

...that culminates with the question:

8. What do you think x^1/2 represents?

I'll let them tell you._[1]

_[1]This conversation took about 12 minutes with the camera being shut off a couple of times. I limited the editing so as to try to capture the classroom vibe as naturally as possible. I asked a few questions that I'd like to take back, but... you live and learn.