could someone help me with math?

Question

Simplify this expression. If the answer contains exponents, all exponents should be positive.

w^6 x w^-8

 

 

Answer 1

simplifying this one is just a matter of applying the properties of exponents!

to start with you can add them together when multiplying, so

w^6 * w^-8 = w^(6 + -8) = w^(-2)

if you want to take it one step further then you can move that down into the denominator

w^(-2) = 1 / w^2

Answer 2

When we have a negative exponent, we perform the reciprocal of the base associated with the exponent to make the exponent positive.

 

w⁶ / w⁸

 

 

When dividing common bases with exponents, we subtract the exponents.

 

w^{(6 - 8)} =

 

w^-2 =

 

1 / w²