How do you simplify # x/x^3#?

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Answer 1 · 2015-07-09T08:52:20

#1/x^2#

There is a rule when it comes to dividing exponents that have the same base; here, we have the common base of #x#.

The rule is:

#x^a/x^b#=#x^(a-b)#

The question is to simplify

#x/x^3#
Note that this can be rewritten as #x^1/x^3#

Using the rule,

#x^1/x^3=x^(1-3)=x^-2=1/x^2#

(since #x^-a=1/x^a#)

Equivalently, you can divide the numerator and the denominator by #x#.