Question

Which choices are real numbers? Check all that apply.

A. (-131072)^1/7
B. (-531441)^1/12
C. (-1024)^1/5
D. (-256)^1/8

Answer 1

Exponents with fractions in them are really just radical notation in a different form. You've probably seen the square root sign.


`√(x)`

That can be written as

x^(1/2)

...and when you take an even root of a negative number, there is no real answer. (2 is an even number).

Looking at the answer choices here, we can see that B and D use even roots, so they will give non-real answers.

So, A and C are the answer choices to select.