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If a base has a negative exponent, how can you make the exponent POSITIVE?

You need to add the exponents together to create a positive exponent.

You need to move the entire base and exponent pair to the OPPOSITE side of the fraction bar.

You need to move the base and any constants associated with it to the denominator.

You need to move the numerator to the denominator and the denominator to the numerator.

1 answer

To make a negative exponent positive, you can move the entire base and exponent pair to the opposite side of the fraction bar. This means that if you have a term with a negative exponent in the numerator, you can move it to the denominator, and it will become positive. Conversely, if the term is in the denominator, you can move it to the numerator, and it will also become positive.

For example:

  • If you have \( x^{-a} \) in the numerator, moving it to the denominator gives you \( \frac{1}{x^{a}} \).
  • If \( \frac{1}{x^{-a}} \) is in the denominator, moving it to the numerator gives you \( x^{a} \).

So, the correct method is to move the entire base and exponent pair to the opposite side of the fraction bar.