Question

In your own words, describe the difference between the meaning of a negative exponent and the meaning of a fractional exponent.

Answer 1

Fractional exponents arise when dealing with radicals (roots) where the denominator of the fraction tells you the root and the numerator tells you the exponent of the base number. :)

Answer 2

A negative component is the process of converting a negative power to become a positive number by making a reciprocal of it.

E. g.

y^-3 = 1/y^3. y raised to the power of -3 becomes the reciprocal of y raised to the power of 3. Thus, the negative attached to 3 disappears making it positive through its reciprocal

Fractional exponent the process of converting a number or variable having a numerator and denominator in its power, to their root like form.

For example

5^2/3 = 3√5^2. So, 5 raised to the power of 2/3 becomes cube root of 5 raised to the power of 2