How do you simplify #(12mn)/( 12m^3n^5)# using only positive exponents?

1 Answer
Oct 2, 2016

Subtract the exponents in the denominator from the exponents in the numerator.

Explanation:

Before we do anything, we can divide 12 by 12 and get rid of those numbers. We now have #(mn)/(m^3n^5)#.

Next, we can use the rule that says #x^a/x^b=x^(a-b)#. To make this easier, let's separate the fraction we have into two fractions:

#m/m^3=m^(1-3)=m^-2=1/m^2#
#n/n^5=n^(1-5)=n^-4=1/n^4#

We can now combine the two fractions together to get our answer, which is #1/(m^2n^4)#.