Lesson 2 of 2
SHORTCUT
A minus sign in the power means 'turn it upside down'.
The question
What is 2⁻³?
A negative power means take the reciprocal and make the power positive. x⁻ⁿ = 1 ÷ xⁿ.
So: 1/8
The minus sign is a trapdoor — the number falls through to the bottom of the fraction and lands there positive.
A negative power never makes the answer negative. 2⁻³ is 1/8, not −8. Examiners rely on that confusion every single year.
Follow the division rule downwards: x³ ÷ x⁵ = x⁻². But written as a fraction that same division is 1/x². Both must be true, so a negative power and a reciprocal are the same thing.
What is 3⁻²? (as a fraction)
What is 2⁻⁴? (as a fraction)
What is 5⁻¹? (as a fraction)
