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Negative Exponent
A negative exponent indicates that the expression should be rewritten as the reciprocal of the base raised to the corresponding positive power. If is an integer and , then:
This result emerges naturally from the Quotient Property for Exponents. Consider : subtracting the exponents gives , while dividing out common factors yields . Since both approaches simplify the same fraction, it follows that .
In practical terms, a negative exponent instructs you to take the reciprocal of the base and then change the sign of the exponent to positive. An expression containing negative exponents is not considered to be in simplest form. To fully simplify, rewrite every negative exponent as a positive one — for example, the simplified form of is .
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