Negative exponents and power rule for exponents

This lesson will cover how to find the power of a negative exponent by using the power rule. If you have two positive real numbers a and b then b^(-a)=1/(b^a). Think of it this way: in order to change the exponent in b^(-a) from -a to positive a, you move the entire value from the numerator to the denominator to get 1/(b^a).

What to do with negative exponents

Remember that any number can be written as itself divided by 1. For example, 3 is the same as 3/1. Also remember that the top part of a fraction is called the numerator and the bottom part of a fraction is called the denominator.

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