Question

Use the rules of exponents to evaluate and simplify the expression. Type all without negative exponents. Make sure “a”and “b” are both in parentheses

Answer 1

We are given the following expression:

`(ab)^(-2)`

First, we will use the following property of exponentials:

`(xy)^(-c)=x{}^(-c)y^(-c)`

Applying the property we get:

`(ab)^(-2)=(a^(-2))(b^(-2))`

Now, we use the following property of exponentials:

`x^(-c)=(1)/(x^c)`

Applying the property we get:

`(a^(-2))(b^(-2))=(1)/((a^2)(b^2))=(1)/((ab)^2)`

Since we can't simplify any further this is the final answer.