We just started the exponents unit and a question I had trouble doing is:
When doing this type of equation there are 4 exponent rules/steps which are pp, d, m and 0. The problem I was having with this equation was I got screwed up with the negative exponents when I was doing the division step I kept on getting positive 2 over the y but the real answer was -2. My “ah ha” moment was when I realized that when you get a negative exponent don’t find the reciprocal in this case you should just leave it as a negative.
After doing this problem I figured out some steps I should use:
1) Identify the exponent rules like pp, d, m and 0
2) Identify which ones we need to use (if there are no 0’s don’t use that rule also look for common variables left to right and up and down.
3) Identify what order of rules you want to use.
4) Execute the steps and rules.
5) check by switching the order of rules.
Overall doing this problem multiple times was a great learning experience because it further stretched my understanding of exponent rules, specifically the negative rule.