No, the rule y = -5x^7 does not represent an exponential function.
An exponential function is a function where the independent variable appears in the exponent. The general form of an exponential function is y = ab^x, where a and b are constants.
In the given function y = -5x^7, the independent variable x appears as a power, but it is not in the exponent of a constant base. Therefore, this function does not represent an exponential function.
Instead, the given function is a polynomial function of degree 7, where the highest power of the independent variable x is 7.