To rewrite [tex]\(7^{13}\)[/tex] in expanded form, we need to understand what the exponent tells us. The expression [tex]\(7^{13}\)[/tex] means we are multiplying the base, which is 7, by itself a certain number of times. The exponent 13 indicates how many times we should multiply the number 7 by itself.
To illustrate this:
[tex]\[ 7^{13} = 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \times 7 \][/tex]
As you can see, the base 7 is repeated 13 times. Each occurrence of the number 7 is a factor in the expression.
Therefore, Terri should use 13 factors in her expanded form.
The number of factors Terri should use is [tex]\(\boxed{13}\)[/tex].
