To apply the product rule of integer exponents and find the numerical equivalent of 12^(-5) * 127, we need to start by understanding the rule itself. The product rule states that when multiplying two expressions with the same base but different exponents, you can add the exponents together while keeping the same base.
In this case, we have two factors: 12^(-5) and 127. Let's break it down step by step:
Step 1: Evaluate 12^(-5)
To evaluate 12^(-5), we know that raising a number to a negative exponent is equivalent to taking its reciprocal and raising it to the positive exponent. So, we can rewrite 12^(-5) as (1/12)^5.
Step 2: Calculate (1/12)^5
To calculate (1/12)^5, we raise the numerator and denominator separately to the power of 5. It becomes (1^5)/(12^5) = 1/12^5.
Step 3: Simplify 1/12^5
Simplifying 1/12^5, we need to evaluate the value of 12^5. It equals 12 * 12 * 12 * 12 * 12 = 248,832. Therefore, 1/12^5 becomes 1/248,832.
Now that we have simplified the first factor, let's continue with the multiplication:
Step 4: Multiply 1/248,832 by 127
To multiply 1/248,832 by 127, we multiply the numerators (1 * 127) and the denominators (248,832). This gives us the final result: 127/248,832.
Therefore, the numerical equivalent of 12^(-5) * 127 is 127/248,832.
In summary, we applied the product rule of integer exponents by treating the negative exponent as the reciprocal of the base raised to the positive exponent. By simplifying each factor separately and then performing the multiplication, we obtained the numerical equivalent of the given expression.