%5E-1-without-exponent.jpeg "(2/5)^-1 Without Exponent")
Understanding (2/5)^-1 without Exponents
The expression (2/5)^-1 might seem intimidating at first, especially if you're not familiar with negative exponents. But fear not! We can rewrite this expression without using exponents, and it's actually quite simple.
The Power of Negative Exponents
A negative exponent essentially means "take the reciprocal". This means we flip the base fraction.
In our case, (2/5)^-1 is the same as 1 divided by (2/5):
(2/5)^-1 = 1 / (2/5)
Simplifying the Expression
Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal. The reciprocal of (2/5) is (5/2). So, we can rewrite our expression:
1 / (2/5) = 1 * (5/2)
Finally, multiplying 1 by any fraction simply gives us that fraction:
1 * (5/2) = 5/2
Conclusion
Therefore, (2/5)^-1 is equivalent to 5/2 without using exponents.
Remember, negative exponents are just a shorthand way of expressing reciprocals. By understanding this concept, we can easily work with these expressions and simplify them.