What is the value of 2 with the power of negative 1?

Answer 1

1/2, or .5

When you raise a number to a negative power, you are dividing one by that number to the positive version of that power. For example, 5^-6 = 1/(5^6).

So, 2^-1 = 1/(2^1), or 1/2, which = .5