Fractional and Negative Powers (DVD)

This award-winning series helps students to build confidence in their ability to quot;do mathquot; and develop the knowledge and skills required to become mathematically literate. This lesson deals with negative and fractional powers. Through a discovery process, the meaning of the negative power as a reciprocal is developed. The order of operations for problems with negative exponents is discussed. Utilizing what we know about exponents, the meaning of fractional powers is discovered. Negative fractional powers are explained based on what has already been learned in this lesson. Finally, powers of negative numbers are investigated to bring to a close the exploration of powers and roots. Students will learn to explain the meaning of a negative and fractional exponent, also a negative fractional power, while leaning to simplify a negative base that's raised to a power.

Fractional and Negative Powers (DVD)