if you have a minus sign outside of the parenthesis what does it mean

it means the negative of the contents of the ( _)

It means the opposite of what is inside the parentheses

express using exponrnts

(-4)7/(-4)2

If you have a minus sign outside of the parentheses, it means that you need to distribute the negative sign to each term inside the parentheses. This process is called the "distributive property."

To apply the distributive property, you multiply the negative sign by each term inside the parentheses. For example, if you have -(3 + 4), you distribute the negative sign to both numbers inside the parentheses:

-(3 + 4) = -3 - 4

In this case, both 3 and 4 become negative because of the distribution of the negative sign. So, -(3 + 4) is equal to -3 - 4, which simplifies to -7.

Similarly, if you have -(x + 2y), you distribute the negative sign to both terms inside the parentheses:

-(x + 2y) = -x - 2y

In this case, both x and 2y become negative. So, -(x + 2y) is equal to -x - 2y.