How do you simplify x^5 /( x^2 y^-2)?

2 Answers
Apr 24, 2018

x^3/y^-2

Explanation:

Let's look at the x terms first. We have

x^5/x^2

which would evaluate to x^3, because of the property x^a/x^b=x^(a-b).

There is no other y terms except in the denominator, so it'll stay there. We have

x^3/y^-2

as our final answer.

Hope this helps!

Apr 24, 2018

y^2*x^3

Explanation:

So, I think the important thing to talk about here is what y^-2 means.

y^-2 can also be rewritten as 1/y^2 because of the negative exponent. For example, 1^-5 is also 1/5. This is simply the rule of negative exponents. It's an important one! I'd remember it.

So after knowing this, we can arrive at:
x^5/x^2/y^2

Then we cancel terms to achieve
x^3/1/y^2

Then just invert and multiply to obtain:
y^2*x^3