- #1
W3bbo
- 31
- 0
I'm new here, and totally green to "real" Maths, to be nice :)
But really simple question: I understand why x^1 == x, because the Identity Element of the multiplication operator is 1, so x^1 == 1*x == x, so x^0 must be just 1 on its own. (I was never told this in GCSE Maths, so I don't know how I got an A in it)
But why do negative exponents produce reciprocals? I see it does division instead of multiplication, but why?
Finally, there's non-integer exponents, I haven't yet read the Wikipedia article on those yet (seeming as it is 2AM right now) but can anyone explain those in an easy-to-digest format?
...that's all I can think of for now, I'll reply to this thread with other things I don't understand.
Thanks
But really simple question: I understand why x^1 == x, because the Identity Element of the multiplication operator is 1, so x^1 == 1*x == x, so x^0 must be just 1 on its own. (I was never told this in GCSE Maths, so I don't know how I got an A in it)
But why do negative exponents produce reciprocals? I see it does division instead of multiplication, but why?
Finally, there's non-integer exponents, I haven't yet read the Wikipedia article on those yet (seeming as it is 2AM right now) but can anyone explain those in an easy-to-digest format?
...that's all I can think of for now, I'll reply to this thread with other things I don't understand.
Thanks