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The mathematical notation '8²' represents which of the following?

  1. 8 + 2

  2. 8 × 2

  3. 8 to the power of 2

  4. The square root of 8

The correct answer is: 8 to the power of 2

The notation '8²' signifies "8 raised to the power of 2," which means multiplying 8 by itself. This is a fundamental concept in mathematics referred to as exponentiation. When you see a number followed by a superscript, it indicates how many times to use that number in multiplication. Therefore, '8²' equals 8 × 8, resulting in 64. The other interpretations don't align with this mathematical notation. Adding 2 to 8, simply performing a multiplication of 8 and 2, or finding the square root of 8 do not reflect what exponentiation entails. Thus, the correct representation of '8²' is indeed 8 to the power of 2.