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10 votes
HELP!!

Is –41/2 equivalent to (–4)1/2? Why or why not?

User Khelben
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1 Answer

16 votes
16 votes
no, they are not equivalent

-41/2 would be division because the fraction would indicate that. you would be dividing -41 by 2. this would get you -20 1/2.

(-4)1/2 would be multiplying because of the parentheses. you would be doing -4 x 1/2 and that would get you -2.

hope this helps
User Cespon
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