A negative exponent implies a reciprocal.
Thus x^-a = 1/x^a or, equivalently, (1/x)^a
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Polynomials cannot have negative exponent.
A negative exponent is the reciprocal of the corresponding positive exponent. 102 = 100 10-2 = 1/100
This is a procedure used to help people who are new to negative exponents. A negative exponent, when moved to the other side of the fraction, becomes a positive exponent and beginners are more comfortable with working with positive fractions.
When you have a number raised to a negative exponent, you move to the left rather than the right in decimal places. E.g. 103 = 1000 10-3 = 0.001 More specifically, when you have a negative exponent, you are taking the reciprocal of what the positive exponent would give. 24 = 16, but 2-4=(1/16) ■
When a number is raised to a negative exponent, it is equivalent to its reciprocal raised to the positive exponent. Therefore, x to the power of -7 is equal to 1 divided by x to the power of 7, or 1/x^7.