How do you find the exponent in a division problem?

Answer 1

Exponents usually refer to things like squared (x2) or cubed (x3), but can also be used to express fractions (division) and square roots. So division can be expressed as a power (exponent).

Let's use 4 as an example.

42 = 16

41/2 = 2 (this is the square root of 4)

4-2 = 1/16 = 1/(42) (negative indicates the reciprocal, so this becomes one OVER four squared, rather than 4 squared)

So if you are asked to find the exponent that is equivalent to 1/25, you could say it is 5-2 (OR 25-1)

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

To find the exponent in a division problem, you can use the rule that states, "When dividing like bases, subtract the exponents." For example, if you have x^5 divided by x^2, you subtract 2 from 5 to get x^3.