What does this symbol ^ mean?

Also called the circumflex, the caret is the symbol ( ^ ) above the 6 key on a standard qwerty keyboard.

In mathematics, the caret represents an exponent, such as a square, cube, or another exponential power.

Example attached below

x =-.20752

step-by-step explanation:

4^(x+2)=12

4^(x+2)=12

take the log base 4 on each side

log 4 (4^(x+2) = log 4(12)

we know log b(a^y) = y log b (a)

(x+2) log 4(4) = log 4 (12)

x+2 = log 4 (12)

we know   logb c = loga c/loga b

we want to convert to base 10   so a = 10

by default, we do not write the 10   c = 4   and b = 10

log4 10 = log 12/log 4

log4 10 = log 12/ log 4

x+2 = log 12/ log 4

subtract 2 from each side

x +2 -2 = log 12/ log 4 -2

x = 1.79248125 -2

x =-.20752

x= cost per bracelet

number of bracelets * x + shipping charge = total cost

so

9x+9=72