Luther evaluated 23 as 9 and Wade evaluated 32 as 9. Are both students correct? Explain why or why not.

Answer:

The two powers are not equal. Wade is correct, but Luther misinterpreted 2 to the power of 3 as 2 factors of 3. He switched the base and exponent. Luther’s value should be 2 times 2 times 2, which is 8.