To simplify the expression \( r^{-7} + p^{-12} \), we can rewrite it in terms of positive exponents:
- \( r^{-7} \) can be expressed as \( \frac{1}{r^7} \).
- \( p^{-12} \) can be expressed as \( \frac{1}{p^{12}} \).
Thus, the expression becomes:
\[ \frac{1}{r^7} + \frac{1}{p^{12}} \]
However, it can also be left in its original form \( r^{-7} + p^{-12} \) since that is a simplified version as well.
From the provided options, the correct response that matches our simplification is:
1/r^7 + 1/p^12
This indicates the sum of the fractions with the respective denominators:
So the correct answer is:
- 1/r7 + 1/p12