Zero & Negative Exponents
Negative Exponents
Earlier in this unit a negative exponent was addressed in an example. In that example it was stated that: 
. This relationship will be explained here. Consider the pattern that exists in the following powers.
To get from one result to the one below it, the exponent is decreased by one and the result is divided by 2. Continuing the pattern will produce the values below:
What is the relationship between the following pairs of numbers: 2 and 
, 4 and 
, 8 and 
? They are reciprocals of each other. Therefore, a negative exponent creates a reciprocal value for all values except zero.
Negative Exponent Rule : 