Section 1.1 : Integer Exponents
4. Evaluate the following expression and write the answer as a single number without exponents.
\[{2^{ - 1}} + {4^{ - 1}}\] Show SolutionThere is not really a whole lot to this problem. All we need to do is the evaluations recalling the proper order of operations.
\[{2^{ - 1}} + {4^{ - 1}} = \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{4} = \require{bbox} \bbox[2pt,border:1px solid black]{{\frac{3}{4}}}\]It is almost always going to be best to first get rid of negative exponents prior to doing any of the rest of the evaluation work. Also, make sure you can add/subtract fractions! We’re going to be running into a lot of fractions here and you need to be able to work with those.