68,554 views
23 votes
23 votes
How can the quotient of powers law be used to show that a negative exponent is equivalent to the reciprocal

of the positive exponent?

User Juan Carlos Farah
by
3.2k points

1 Answer

15 votes
15 votes

Answer:Thus, (-3)-4 = 1/(-3)4.

Explanation:

Negative exponents have the following property: n-m = 1/nm OR 1/n-m = nm

So for (-3)-4 , n= -3 and -m= -4 (or m= 4).

Thus, (-3)-4 = 1/(-3)4.

User Emragins
by
3.3k points