The power (or index) tells you how many times the number is multiplied (by itself).
eg 5³ = 5 × 5 × 5 (5 multiplied by itself 3 times)
eg 5² = 5 × 5 (5 multiplied by itself 2 times)
If the power is negative, it is the reciprocal of the number to the positive power, ie it is 1 over this number.
eg 5^-3 = 1/(5³) = 1/(5×5×5)
eg 5^-2 = 1/(5²) = 1/(5×5)
Thus 5¹ = 5.
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I am not entirely sure what you mean: If you raise something to a power, you automatically have an exponent.(-5) to the power (-1) is the reciprocal of (-5) to the power 1, so you have 1 / (-5), or -1/5.
If you mean 5 to the power of -1 then it is 1/5
It is equivalent to 1 over 5 to the power of 5, or 1 over 3125.
It is: 1/8 to the power of 5 = 1/32768
They are not! 5-3, for example is not 1/52 nor (1/5)2.