Evaluate (1/4) raised to the power of negative three.

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Multiple Choice

Evaluate (1/4) raised to the power of negative three.

Explanation:
Negative exponents indicate taking the reciprocal of the base. So (1/4) to the power of -3 equals 1 divided by (1/4) cubed. Compute (1/4)^3 = 1/64, and the reciprocal of that is 64. Therefore the value is 64. This shows why a negative exponent on a fraction flips the fraction and yields a larger number. If you see 1/64 or 8 as possible results, those come from not applying the reciprocal or from unrelated operations, but the correct result here is 64.

Negative exponents indicate taking the reciprocal of the base. So (1/4) to the power of -3 equals 1 divided by (1/4) cubed. Compute (1/4)^3 = 1/64, and the reciprocal of that is 64. Therefore the value is 64. This shows why a negative exponent on a fraction flips the fraction and yields a larger number. If you see 1/64 or 8 as possible results, those come from not applying the reciprocal or from unrelated operations, but the correct result here is 64.

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