Math: the meaning of a negative exponent

As a math tutor, you’ll need to remind students about this exponent law.

Most exponent laws people find pretty straightforward.  I’ll likely cover them in a future post. However, this particular one deserves its own; most people just don’t like it.  Let’s discover it’s really not so bad.

Rule:

Example:

Notice the fraction version:

Example:

A consequence of this rule is that a negative power, if on the bottom, can be moved to the top and made positive:

Example:

The rule needs to be followed literally. Like most rules in math, it often doesn’t lead to the final answer. Rather, it normally occurs as a step on the way to the final answer. Apply it exactly, then proceed!

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.

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