Dillon M.

asked • 12/01/15

how do i simplify 5y^-4

working on algebra course online and got stumped on simplifying this problem.

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Mario T. answered • 12/01/15

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The only way to really simplify that is to rewrite it as 5/(y4). But that doesn't do much good honestly. It's just another way of writing it.
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Mark M.

"Simplify" is an instruction to rewrite the expression with as few symbols as possible. 5y-4 and 5/y4 have the same number of symbols.
A possible alternative direction might have been to rewrite without the negative exponent.
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12/01/15

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