Question

How do you simplify `m ^ 2n^-2`?

Answer 1

If a term with a negative exponent changes position in a fraction, the exponent will become positive, like in this example `m^2/n^2`

Explanation:

Negative exponents indicate that should they change where they are in a fraction, they will change from negative to positive.

In this case, let's start with:

`m^2n^-2`

I'm going to rewrite this as a fraction:

`(m^2n^-2)/1`

The positive exponent in m means it is fine where it is. The negative exponent in n means that if it changes position to the denominator, it will be positive there, like this:

`m^2/n^2`