211k views
3 votes
Does a negative exponent result in a negative answer

User Docans
by
8.1k points

1 Answer

4 votes
No! Remember, you see a negative exponent, that just means the reciprocal of the positive exponent. So 1 over negative 2 to the third power, to the positive third power. And this is equal to 1 over negative 2 times negative 2 times negative 2. ... So this is equal to negative 1/8.
User KaoD
by
7.8k points