Final answer:
To make the statement 1/4 = 4^? true, the exponent must be -2, as a base with a negative exponent represents the reciprocal of the base raised to the absolute value of the exponent.
Step-by-step explanation:
The exponent that would make the statement 1/4 = 4^? true is -2. To find this, we need to understand that a negative exponent indicates that the base (in this case, 4) should be taken as the reciprocal raised to the absolute value of the exponent. Hence, 4 raised to the power of -2 would be the same as 1 divided by 4 squared (1/4^2), which equals 1/16. However, since we want the result to be 1/4, we adjust this to 4^-1, which equals 1/4. The answer is B. -2.