Which shows the following expression after the negative exponents have been eliminated? a^3b^-2/ab^-4 Assume a can’t equal 0 and b can’t equal 0
Mathematics · High School · Wed Jan 13 2021
Answered on
Given the equation:
a^3 b^-2 / ab^-4
Determine the equivalent value.
Solution:
In order to determine the equivalent value, we simply needed to solve apply the laws of exponent. The laws of exponent for dividing similar quantities with different exponents state that we must subtract the exponent. This can be represented by,
n^a/n^b = n^(a-b)
= a^3 b^-2 / ab^-4
= a^(3 - 1) b^ (-2 - (-4))
= a^(3 - 1) b^ (-2 + 4)
= a^2 b^2
Final answer:
= a^2 b^2