Question

How do you simplify `\frac { x ^ { - 1 } } { 4 x ^ { 4 } }`?

Answer 1

`1/(4x^5)`

Explanation:

We can rewrite our expression as

`1/4 (x^(-1)/x^4)`

And now, all we have to pay attention to is the variables.

Next, we will leverage the exponent property

`(x^a)/(x^b)=x^(a-b)`

All this is saying is that if we have the same base, we subtract the exponents. Applying this, we get

`1/4 (x^(-1-4))`

Which simplifies further to

`1/4 x^-5`

If the negative exponent bothers you, we can easily make it positive by bringing it to the denominator. We'll get

`1/4 x^-5=1/(4x^5)`

Hope this helps!