What is negative a superscript negative 2 baseline if a equals negative 5 question mark

Question

(1 point)
Responses

-25
-25

25
25

negative start fraction 1 over 25 end fraction
Image with alt text: negative start fraction 1 over 25 end fraction

Start Fraction 1 over 25 End Fraction

Answer 1

To calculate the value of the expression when a equals -5, we substitute -5 for a in the expression.

The expression is (-5)^-2.

When we raise a negative number to a negative exponent, it means we take the reciprocal of the number and then raise it to the positive exponent.

So, (-5)^-2 is equivalent to 1/(-5)^2.

Simplifying further, (-5)^2 equals 25, so 1/(-5)^2 is equal to 1/25.

Therefore, the answer is negative start fraction 1 over 25 end fraction.