The laws of exponents work the same with rational exponents, the difference being they use fractions not integers.
An integer exponent is the number of times that a number is multiplied by itself. For example: if the exponent of a is 3, then it represents the number a3 = a*a*a. The laws of exponents can be extended to arrive at definitions of negative exponents [a-3 = 1/a3] and fractional exponents [a1/3 is the cube or third root of a]. These definitions can be further extended to exponents that are irrational numbers, or even complex number.
the base and the laws of exponent
Note that most of the laws for exponents are equally valid for negative, and fractional, exponents. In part, that is because negative and fractional exponents are DEFINED so that those laws continue being valid.Using "^" for power, and "*" for multiplication, some of the fundamental rules are: a^b * a^c = a^(b+c) a^b / a^c = a^(b-c) (a^b)^c = a^(bc) a^c * b^c = (ab)^c All of these are valid for any real exponent - including negative and fractional numbers.
If you have a power, the "base" is the large number to the left; the "exponent" is the raised (and smaller) number to the right.
The laws of exponents work the same with rational exponents, the difference being they use fractions not integers.
An integer exponent is the number of times that a number is multiplied by itself. For example: if the exponent of a is 3, then it represents the number a3 = a*a*a. The laws of exponents can be extended to arrive at definitions of negative exponents [a-3 = 1/a3] and fractional exponents [a1/3 is the cube or third root of a]. These definitions can be further extended to exponents that are irrational numbers, or even complex number.
the base and the laws of exponent
Note that most of the laws for exponents are equally valid for negative, and fractional, exponents. In part, that is because negative and fractional exponents are DEFINED so that those laws continue being valid.Using "^" for power, and "*" for multiplication, some of the fundamental rules are: a^b * a^c = a^(b+c) a^b / a^c = a^(b-c) (a^b)^c = a^(bc) a^c * b^c = (ab)^c All of these are valid for any real exponent - including negative and fractional numbers.
There is only one law for exponents in division, and that is 1/ax = a-x
If you have a power, the "base" is the large number to the left; the "exponent" is the raised (and smaller) number to the right.
The answer to your question is derived from the Laws of Exponents. According to these laws when you encounter exponents in division problems you perform a subtraction. (Ex. a2/a3) After subtracting the exponents (2-3= -1) you are left with an exponent of -1 (a-1) This is just another way to write 1/a1 , or more commonly, just 1/a.
An integer exponent is a count of the number of times a particular number (the base) must be multiplied together. For example, for the base x, x^a means x*x*x*...*x where there are a lots of x in the multiplication. The definition is simple to understand for integer values of the exponent. This definition gives rise to the laws of exponents, and these allow this definition to be extended to the case where the exponents are negative, fractions, irrational and even complex numbers.
In the number x, with positive integer exponent a, a is the number of times that 1 (not the number itself) is multiplied by x. So, for example in the expression, 43 the exponent is 3 and the number represented is "1 is multiplied by 4 three times". If you multiply 4 by itself 3 times, you will get 4*4 (one time) * 4 (two times) *4 (three times) and that is NOT 43: it is just a wrong description.The laws of exponents are:xa * xb = xa+bxa / xb = xa-b(xa)b = xa*b(xy)a = xa * yaThe first three are used to extend the domain of exponents to negative integers and rational numbers. Exponents to irrational numbers are defined as limits of the exponents of the rational sequences converging to the irrational number.Finally, 00 is not defined (because it does not converge).
Exponents are used in many different contexts and for different, though related, reasons. Exponents are used in scientific notation to represent very large and very small numbers. The main purpose it to strip the number of unnecessary detail and to reduce the risk of errors. Exponents are used in algebra and calculus to deal with exponential or power functions. Many laws in physics, for example, involve powers (positive, negative or fractional) of basic measures. Calculations based on these laws are simper if exponents are used.
I can think of two: - To multiply powers with the same base, add the exponents: (a^b)(a^c) = a^(b+c). - To find a power of a product, apply the exponent to each factor in the product: (ab)^c = (a^c)(b^c).
Defining powers this way makes the laws of powers continue being valid, for fractional exponents. Mainly, as you might know, (ab)c = abc. For positive integers "b" and "c", this is easy to visualize. Now, for example, for (21/2)2, you would expect the result to be 2 according to this law. This is only possible if 21/2 is equal to the square root of 2.