When am I ever going to use negative exponents in real life?

it depends on what you do but if you work in the stock market you'll need to use the to calculate losses compared to gains

I wish my stock market losses were negative exponents, as it is, most of them are positive exponents.

Positive exponents are large numbers;
10^2= 100
10^4=10,000

Negative exponents are quite the contrary;
10^-2= .02
10^-4=.0001

Negative exponents deal with small fractions of things

14grams= 1.4*10^-3 kilograms
the mass of an electron is
9.1*10^-31kg

Negative exponents may not seem immediately relevant in everyday life, but they do have practical applications in various fields. Here are a few examples:

1. Scientific notation: Negative exponents are commonly used in expressing very large or very small numbers in a concise form. For instance, astronomical distances, such as the distance between stars or galaxies, often involve negative exponents to represent numbers in a more convenient format.

2. Engineering and physics: Negative exponents are used in calculations involving electrical circuits, where values are often expressed in terms of powers of 10. They are also essential in scientific and engineering fields that deal with rates of decay, such as radioactivity or the dissipation of energy over time.

3. Finance and economics: Negative exponents can be used to model exponential decay or exponential growth processes, which are commonly observed in financial calculations, population dynamics, investment analysis, and compound interest.

4. Chemistry: Negative exponents are used in calculations involving concentrations, reaction rates, and other chemical processes. For example, the value of pH in acid-base chemistry is often expressed as a negative exponent.

In summary, negative exponents may not be directly used on a daily basis for most individuals, but they are utilized in scientific, engineering, financial, and mathematical contexts across various professions and disciplines. Understanding the concept and being able to work with negative exponents can enhance problem-solving skills and provide a deeper understanding of many real-life phenomena.