With negative exponents, the Quotient Rule needs only one form
, for
. When the exponent in the denominator is larger than the exponent in the numerator, the exponent of the quotient will be negative.
Simplify expressions with integer exponents
All of the exponent properties we developed earlier in the chapter with whole number exponents apply to integer exponents, too. We restate them here for reference.
In the next two examples, we’ll start by using the Commutative Property to group the same variables together. This makes it easier to identify the like bases before using the Product Property.