How do you simplify #1/4^-2 #?

1 Answer
Jul 9, 2016

Express the denominator as a fraction such as #(1)/((1/4^(2)))#

Knowing that #4^2 = 16#, multiply the denominator and numerator by the reciprocal:

#(1)/((1/4^(2))) = ((1) * (16/1))/cancel(((1/16) * (16/1))) = 16#

Explanation:

The "trick" here is to express #4^(-2)# as a fraction of integers.