Worked Solution #1 of 5, increasing in difficulty.

Expand the following:

\begin{align} \quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\quad\Large {( \ x^{2} \ )^{4} } \\ \\ &\cssId{Step1}{\Large = { x^{2} \ x^{2} \ x^{2} \ x^{2} }} \\ \\ &\cssId{Step2}{\Large = { x^{ ( 2+2+2+2 )} }} \\ \\ &\cssId{Step3}{\Large = { x^{8} }}\\ \\ \end{align}