-.005^-360

Question

I need to know the steps for figuring out a negative exponent. I am trying to find -.005^-360

Answer 1

Here is the algorithm:

x^-a=1/x^a

 

So, to use this on your problem:

x^-360=1/x³⁶⁰

(-.005)^-360=1/(-.005)³⁶⁰

 

Since 360 is even, your answer will be positive.

=1/.005³⁶⁰

 

I am not sure if you are being asked to simplify this further? It could also be written as (1/.005)³⁶⁰

From there, 1/.005=200, so (-.005)^-360=200³⁶⁰

I doubt any teacher would ask you to simplify further than that, though.

Hope this helps