Negative Exponents part 1

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Taught by YourMathGal
  • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
11633 views | 2 ratings
Part of video series
Meets NCTM Standards:
Lesson Summary:

In this lesson on negative exponents, you will learn how to simplify expressions by understanding the rules of exponents. Specifically, you will learn how to use the quotient rule to subtract exponents with the same base and how to convert negative exponents to positive exponents. By the end of the lesson, you will be able to write all answers with positive exponents and have a clear understanding of the meaning of negative exponents.

Lesson Description:

Develops the meaning of negative exponents and how to simplify expressions with negative exponents.

More free YouTube videos by Julie Harland are organized at http://yourmathgal.com

Questions answered by this video:
  • What are negative exponents and what do they mean?
  • What is the quotient rule for exponents?
  • What is x^2/x^5?
  • How do you simplify an expression with the same variable on top and bottom?
  • What does x^-3 mean?
  • Why does x^-3 equal 1/x^3?
  • Why do you subtract exponents when they are being divided?
  • How do you simplify 4^-2, 5^-1, 2^-3, and x^-5?
  • How do you simplify 2x^-4 and 4x^-3y^2?
  • How do you write 2x^-5y^2z^-1 without negative exponents?
  • How do you simplify 1/x^-3?
  • What do you do when you have a negative exponent in the denominator?
  • How would you simplify (5x^-2)/(3^-1y^2)?
  • How do you simplify the expressions 5^-2/x^3, 2x^-4/x^2, and m^-2/m^-5?
  • Staff Review

    • Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
    This lesson does a great job of going through a bunch of examples of simplifying rational expressions with numbers and variables. The quotient rule for exponents is the focus of this lesson, and exponents are subtracted to simplify the expressions and get the answer in terms of only positive exponents.