What Do You Do With a Negative Exponent?

What Do You Do With a Negative Exponent?

Note:

Do you ever panic when you see a negative number in the exponent of some mathematical expression? Well if you do, then panic no more! This tutorial will help you overcome your fear, and will help you understand what negative exponents actually mean :)

Keywords:

  • definition
  • property
  • exponent
  • power
  • negative
  • inverse
  • fraction

Background Tutorials

  • Evaluating Expressions

      • What is a Variable?What is a Variable?

      What is a Variable?

      You can't do algebra without working with variables, but variables can be confusing. If you've ever wondered what variables are, then this tutorial is for you!

  • Rules of Exponents

      • What are Exponents?What are Exponents?

      What are Exponents?

      Did you know that another word for 'exponent' is 'power'? To learn the meaning of these words and to see some special cases involving exponents, check out this tutorial!

  • Working with Exponents

      • How Do You Evaluate an Exponent?How Do You Evaluate an Exponent?

      How Do You Evaluate an Exponent?

      Exponents just indicate repeated multiplication. Watch this tutorial to see how you can evaluate an exponent by first writing it in expanded form. Take a look!

  • Rules of Exponents

      • What's the Quotient of Powers Rule?What's the Quotient of Powers Rule?

      What's the Quotient of Powers Rule?

      Working with exponents can be lots of fun, as long as you understand how they work. In this tutorial you'll see how exponents add when you divide the same number raised to different exponents!