Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces (ALEKS) Basic Math Placement Practice Test

What do you do when you have a negative exponent in the denominator?

1. Leave it as is

2. Make the exponent positive by moving it to the denominator

3. Change the denominator into a fraction

4. Move the exponent to the numerator

The correct answer is: Move the exponent to the numerator

When you have a negative exponent in the denominator, the correct action is to move that base with the negative exponent to the numerator, which effectively makes the exponent positive. This is in accordance with the rules of exponents that state: a negative exponent indicates a reciprocal. For example, if you have something like \( \frac{1}{x^{-n}} \), you can rewrite this as \( x^{n} \) by moving \( x^{-n} \) from the denominator to the numerator. This is helpful because it simplifies expressions and makes it easier to perform calculations. Thus, transforming the negative exponent into a positive one by relocating the base to the numerator is the proper method to handle negative exponents in the denominator.