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What’s the difference between numbers that are to the power of with parentheses and no parentheses. For example (-2/5)^3 and -2/5^3. Please explain this rule and thank you.

User Ventaquil
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1 Answer

5 votes

Answer:

See below

Explanation:

The first one 'cubes' the denominator AND the numerator:

(-2/5)^3 = -2/5 * -2/5 * -2/5 = -8/125

The second one 'cubes' only the denominator:

-2/5^3 = -2 / (5 * 5 * 5) = - 2 / 125

User Modermo
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