<p>naw i have a ti 89...so you can just use the 'solve' function...but if you dont, then you're right it would be more time consuming</p>
<p>Two lines with "t" and "u" are just formulas to be used in the solution.</p>
<p>I could've given numeric examples instead:
2^3 * 5^3 = (2*5)^3</p>
<p>(2^3)^4 = 2^(3*4)</p>