Negative Exponents

 

    Seeing a negative number as a power may be a little strange the first time around. But the principle at work is simple. Any number or term raised to a negative power is equal to the reciprocal of that base raised to the opposite power. For example:

 

    Or, a slightly more complicated example:

 

    With that, you’ve got the four rules of special exponents. Here are some examples to firm up your knowledge: