How can an exponent be negative? Use an example.
Having trouble with this prompt, I don’t know how to explain what it is asking for.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/negative-exponents.html
a negative exponent is the inverse of a positive exponent
x^-a = 1 / (x^a)
using exponent rules ... 2^3 / 2^5 = 2^-2
... 8 / 32 = 1/4 = 1 / 2^2 = 2^-2
No problem! I'll explain it to you. In mathematics, an exponent represents the number of times a base number is multiplied by itself. Typically, exponents are positive numbers, indicating how many times the base is multiplied. However, an exponent can also be negative, indicating a reciprocal or the inverse of the base.
To understand this concept better, let's look at an example:
Consider the number 2 raised to the power of -3, written as 2^-3. This means that we need to find the reciprocal of 2 cubed (2^3).
To solve this, we start by calculating 2^3, which is 2 * 2 * 2 = 8.
Now, to find 2^-3, we need to take the reciprocal of 8, which is 1/8. So, 2^-3 is equal to 1/8.
In summary, a negative exponent indicates the reciprocal or inverse of a number raised to that exponent. In the example, 2^-3 is equivalent to 1/8.