Question

Write your answer using only positive exponents. (-2x^6y^-2)^3

Answer 1

Firstly, the rule with raising a power by a power is to multiply the two powers. In our case, it'll look like this:

$(-2x^6y^{-2})^3\\ (-2)^3x^{6*3}y^{-2*3}\\ -8x^{18}y^{-6}$

Now the rule from negative exponents to fractions is $x^{-m}=\frac{1}{x^m}$ . Applying this to y^-6, your final answer is going to be $\frac{-8x^{18}}{y^{6}}$