I see the product and quotient rules in a quick online search, but I can't find amything for addition and subtraction.
For example, a special case is:
$$2^6 - 2^5 = 2^5$$ $$2^5 - 2^4 = 2^4$$
$$3^6 - 3^5 = (3-1)3^5$$ $$3^5 - 3^4 = (3-1)3^4$$
Therefore this can be generalized for all subtraction where exponents are 1 degree away as... $$a^{n+1} - a^n = (a-1)a^n$$
However when the exponents are more than 1 degree away, it appears to not be simplifiable... $$2^5 - 2^3 = 24$$
If it is not simplifiable, are there at least any tricks to solve it short of busting out a calculator?
Otherwise, is there some way to extend the simple case above to an even more generalizable solution?
