Question

Tyler simplified the expression x Superscript negative 3 Baseline y Superscript negative 9. His procedure is shown below.

Answer 1

Answer:

$y^{-9}\neq \dfrac{1}{y^{-9}}$

Step-by-step explanation:

Tyler simplified the expression: $x^{-3}y^{-9}$  as shown below:

$x^{-3}y^{-9}=\dfrac{1}{x^3}X \dfrac{1}{y^{-9}}=\dfrac{1}{x^3y^{-9}}$

We notice that in Tyler's work:

$y^{-9}= \dfrac{1}{y^{-9}}$

Whereas, the correct form would have been:

$y^{-9}= \dfrac{1}{y^{9}}$

Making our solution:

$x^{-3}y^{-9}=\dfrac{1}{x^3}X \dfrac{1}{y^{9}}=\dfrac{1}{x^3y^{9}}$