SOLUTION: in () 3x squared and outside the () an exponent of -2

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Question 208395: in () 3x squared and outside the () an exponent of -2
Answer by jsmallt9(2063) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
The key to working with negative exponents is to understand the basic equation:
x%5E%28-n%29+=+%28x%5En%29%5E%28-1%29+=+%28x%5En%2F1%29%5E-1+=+1%2F%28x%5En%29
In short, a negative exponent means "reciprocal of". In other words, flip the expression upside down and remove the minus sign on the exponent.

So your expression
%283x%29%5E-2 means the reciprocal of %283x%29%5E2
So we can rewrite %283x%29%5E-2 as 1%2F%283x%29%5E2
Now all we need to do is simplify:
%283x%29%5E-2+=+1%2F%283x%29%5E2+=+1%2F%289x%5E2%29