Can anyone solve this insanity of Simplifying Exponent Expressions?????? Its (-3x^-1 y^-2)(2x^4 y^-3) ???????????/
\[(-3x^{-1} y^{-2})(2x^4 y^{-3}) \] it is just bookkeeping. add the exponents
\[-6x^{-1+4}y^{-2-3}\]
But it says to write it as positive exponents
I personally hate negative exponents. You'll never see a negative exponent in any of my solutions.
ok satellite has already done all the hard work, the rest is easy if you wish to write it in terms of positive exponents.
Here is what Satellite got to: \[-6x^{3}y^{-5}\] then you know that a negative exponent means a fraction - i.e. \[a^{-b} = \frac{1}{a^b}\] so we have \[\frac{-6x^3}{y^5}\]
when multiplying, add the indices, when raising to the power multiply the indices...
Thanks...
negative exponent actually means means "inverse". so a^-b really means inverse of a^b which equals 1/a^b
Can I throw another 1 @ ya?
yeah, it's the multiplicative inverse isn't it: a^(b) has multiplicative inverse a^(-b). In the real number field this is equal to 1/a^b. However, in groups for example, there's no concept of a number so we stick to a^(-1) as the inverse of a. Since we are in the real numbers, a^b has inverse a^(-b).
Join our real-time social learning platform and learn together with your friends!