Question

Tyler simplified the expression x Superscript negative 3 Baseline y Superscript negative 9. His procedure is shown below.

x Superscript negative 3 Baseline y Superscript negative 9 = StartFraction 1 Over x cubed EndFraction times StartFraction 1 Over y Superscript negative 9 EndFraction = StartFraction 1 Over x cubed y Superscript negative 9 EndFraction

What is Tyler’s error?

Answer 1

`y^(-9)\\eq (1)/(y^(-9))`

Explanation:

Tyler simplified the expression:
`x^(-3)y^(-9)` as shown below:

`x^(-3)y^(-9)=(1)/(x^3)X (1)/(y^(-9))=(1)/(x^3y^(-9))`

We notice that in Tyler's work:

`y^(-9)= (1)/(y^(-9))`

Whereas, the correct form would have been:

`y^(-9)= (1)/(y^(9))`

Making our solution:

`x^(-3)y^(-9)=(1)/(x^3)X (1)/(y^(9))=(1)/(x^3y^(9))`