Basic Math Examples

$a^{2} \div a^{- 1}$

Step 1

Rewrite the division as a fraction.

$\frac{a^{2}}{a^{- 1}}$

Step 2

Move $a^{- 1}$ to the numerator using the negative exponent rule $\frac{1}{b^{- n}} = b^{n}$ .

$a^{2} a$

Step 3

Multiply $a^{2}$ by $a$ by adding the exponents.

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Step 3.1

Multiply $a^{2}$ by $a$ .

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Step 3.1.1

Raise $a$ to the power of $1$ .

$a^{2} a^{1}$

Step 3.1.2

Use the power rule $a^{m} a^{n} = a^{m + n}$ to combine exponents.

$a^{2 + 1}$

Step 3.2

Add $2$ and $1$ .

$a^{3}$