solving negative exponent simplification

Question

x^-2 -1/x-1

Answer 1

x^-2 - 1/x - 1 ______ given

= (1/x²) - (1/x) - (1) ______ x^-2 can be written as 1/x2 and use parentheses to separate each term

= (1/x²) - (x/x²) - (x²/x²) ______ LCD is x²

= (1-x-x²)/(x²) ______ combine terms into single fraction

= (-x²-x+1)/(x²) ______ rearrange terms in the numerator in descending order

= - (x²+x-1)/(x²) ______ factor -1 outside of the fraction [ANSWER]