Im just out of it!
- Thread starter hobdenas
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troublemaker676
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- Sep 1, 2005
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Do you mean if the exponent is negative, like 2^-2. I'm not sure what you mean.
G
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I think you may mean if the power is a negative what does it mean.....
ie x^(-2) means that the number can be rewritten as 1/(x^2)
so the negative power means invert the expression.
ie x^(-2) means that the number can be rewritten as 1/(x^2)
so the negative power means invert the expression.
apm was right with what they said but i think the question is asking something different. the way apm explained it was if the EXPONENT was negative. so ill explain how i think they wanted it..first of all you have to understand that standard form is the answer!!ex. 81 is the standard form of 3^4. so if your power is negative in standard form example:-81 , -6, then that means that your exponent will be an odd number..let me explain...if you have the equation -3^2, it means (-3)x(-3) right? and if you go back to your exponent rules, a negative and a negative equals a positive, so in standard form you will have: +9 right?. so now lets look at -3^3. it means (-3)x(-3)x(-3) . a negative and a negative equals a positive but you still have to add another negative which will give you a negative answer(a positive and a negative equals a negative) so in standard form you will have: -27 you still with me? so if you keep doing that ex. -3^4 then -3^5 then -3^6 you will realize that when you have an odd exponent(ex. 3,5,7,9) your answer(standard form) will always be negative, and when your exponent is even(ex. 2,4,6,8) then your answer will always positve... IMPORTANT RULE THOUGH!!! your power had to be negative!!!! if you have 4^3 dont go thinking the answer is a negative beacuse there is an odd exponent. this will only work if your power has a negative like -4^3(its an negative result) and -4^2(an even result). so ill give you a couple more examples: the number -5^7 can only be a negative result because there is a odd exponent and -2^8 will be a positive result beacuse ther eis an even exponent....i hope this helps and is what your looking for, but if you need me to explain it better then just write back