Question

How can you eliminate a negative exponent?

A) Raise the base to the power of the negative exponent
B) Take the reciprocal of the base raised to the positive exponent
C) Move the term to the other side of the equation
D) Add 1 to the negative exponent

Answer 1

To eliminate a negative exponent, take the reciprocal of the base raised to the positive exponent. This effectively turns a division into a multiplication, in line with the rule that a negative exponent indicates division.

Step-by-step explanation:

To eliminate a negative exponent, you should take the reciprocal of the base and raise it to the positive exponent. For example, if you have x-n, to eliminate the negative exponent, you would rewrite it as 1/xn. This means that the correct answer to the question is: B) Take the reciprocal of the base raised to the positive exponent.

When you encounter expressions like 2.4 x 10-2, you move the decimal point to the left two places because of the negative exponent to get 0.024. The negative exponent indicates division, and this is why taking the reciprocal of the base number is the correct way to handle negative exponents.