Posted by Joel on November 04, 2002 at 18:34:08:
In Reply to: Algebra/exponents....HELP posted by cece on November 04, 2002 at 18:20:17:
: The problem is:
: t -5 ( -5 is the exponet)
: ____ (over)
: t 2 ( 2 is the exponet)
:
: I need to solve the problem without the answer being a negative exponet or exponet of zero.
: Thanks~
: cece
^ is the symbol for exponent, so write it this way:
t^(-5)/t^2
To divide two numbers (with the same base), you subtract the exponent of the denominator from the exponent of the numerator, so
t^(-5)/t^2 = t^(-7)
Now, you say you don't like negative exponents, so put it in the denominator. Remember, x^(-1) is just another way of writing 1/x (which is the same as 1/x^1, right?)
So...
t^(-7) = 1/t^7