How do you simplify (3a)^-3 and write it using only positive exponents?

1 Answer
Jan 24, 2017

It would be 1/((3a)^3)

Explanation:

Two things to note here:

A negative exponent always means the power can be written with a positive exponent by moving that power to the other side of a quotient (a fraction). So, the (3a)^(-3) becomes the denominator of a fraction (or the divisor in a quotient if would you rather think of it that way).

Second, since the brackets are placed around the entire 3a monomial, this is the base to which the exponent applies, and not just the a part.