Everything you Need to Know About Zero,
Negative and Rational Exponents
Dealing with exponential expressions is an inevitable phase of your algebra
courses, as they're used in equations and other applications.
What's an Exponent?
An exponent is the number of times a base number will be multiplied by
itself. It can be any number and can be classified as a negative exponent,
zero exponent, or positive exponent.
Exponents starting from 1 are called positive exponents and are the most
common ones – you've probably dealt with them often.
What Are Zero and Negative Exponents?
Zero and negative exponents are special cases of exponents.
For example:
23 is the same as 2 x 2 x 2, a repeated multiplication leading to a final
answer of 8: 2 x 2 x 2 = (2 x 2) x 2 = 4 x 2 = 8.
However, with zero and negative exponents, things don't easily work that
way.
Zero Exponents
It's an exponent that always and automatically equates any base number to
1. Simply put, whatever the base number is, as long it's raised to zero
power, it will always equal 1. Everything is irrelevant, no matter how large
the value of the number is or whether it's a positive number or a negative
base.
For example:
Whether it's 30 or 300,000,0000, the answer is still 1.
Negative Exponents
With numbers raised to negative powers, on the other hand, you move the
base number's position with the exponent to remove the negative sign and
make it positive. In other words, you reciprocate the given and make the
exponent positive. The result will always be a fraction.
For example:
2-4 = (1/2) x (1/2) x (1/2) x (1/2) = 1/16
or 2-4 = 1/(24) = 1/(2 x 2 x 2 x 2) = 1/16
If the negative powers are at the top of a fraction or are a whole number,
moving the base number with the exponents to the bottom of the fraction
will make the exponent positive. In other words, when any number over 1 is
raised to a negative exponent, it can be positive - as long as you put it in the
denominator with 1 as the numerator.
Another example:
10-1 = 1/101
Zero and Negative Exponents Explained with
Examples
The descriptions and overviews of zero and negative exponents were
discussed in the previous section. Now, we will look at and discuss how to
solve them.
Solving with Zero Exponents
When dealing with zero exponents, the easiest way to explain it is by using
the quotient of powers rule. Recalling your first five exponent rules:
(x/y)5 = (x5)/(y5) or (x2/y3)3 = x6/y9
1. Product of Powers Rule or Product Rule - multiplying two base
numbers of the same value can be simplified to the same base
number. Then, add the base numbers' exponents: 7 2 x 75 = 72+5 = 77
2. Quotient of Powers Rule or Quotient rule - dividing two bases with
the same value can be simplified to the same base. Then, subtract its
exponents: (134)/(131) = 134-1 = 133
3. Power of a Power Rule - when power is raised to another power, the
exponents are multiplied, and the common base is kept: (x 2)3= x2x3 = x6
4. Power of a Product Rule – when a base inside parentheses, xy, is
being raised to an exponent, the exponent is distributed to each part of
the base: (xy)4 = (x4) x (y4)
5. Power of a Quotient Rule- this works the same way as the power of
a product rule; the exponent is distributed to both the dividend and
divisor:
Zero Exponent Rule
Now, to fully explain how a number raised to the zeroth power is always
equal to 1, we can use the quotient of powers rule. According to the quotient
rule, dividing the same bases will result in the same base and an exponent
of the top and bottom exponents' difference.
