Question

express 3 -5x 3 -4 as a power of 3 with positive exponents

Answer 1

It would be

1

(

3

a

)

3

Explanation:

Two things to note here:

A negative exponent always means the power can be written with a positive exponent by moving that power to the other side of a quotient (a fraction). So, the

(

3

a

)

−

3

becomes the denominator of a fraction (or the divisor in a quotient if would you rather think of it that way).

Second, since the brackets are placed around the entire

3

a

monomial, this is the base to which the exponent applies, and not just the

a

part.