14x^5y^2 / -21x^2y^8

To simplify the expression (14x^5y^2) / (-21x^2y^8), we can follow these steps:

Step 1: Divide the coefficients (numbers) of the variables.
14 / (-21) = -2/3

Step 2: Divide the variables with the same base by subtracting their exponents.
x^5 / x^2 = x^(5-2) = x^3
y^2 / y^8 = y^(2-8) = y^(-6)

Step 3: Put everything together to find the simplified expression.
(-2/3) * x^3 * y^(-6)

So, the simplified expression is (-2/3) * x^3 * y^(-6).