What is 5^(-1)?

5^(-1) is equal to 1/5 or 0.2.

When you see a negative exponent, it means you take the reciprocal of the base number. In this case, the base number is 5, and the exponent is -1. The reciprocal of 5 is 1/5. So, 5^(-1) is the same as 1/5.

To understand this better, let's break it down. Normally, when you have a positive exponent, you multiply the base number by itself as many times as the exponent indicates. For example, 5^2 means 5 * 5, which equals 25. However, a negative exponent means you do the opposite: you divide 1 by the base number raised to the positive version of the exponent. So, 5^(-1) means 1 divided by 5^1, which is 1/5.

In decimal form, 1/5 is equal to 0.2. This is because when you divide 1 by 5, you get 0.2. So, 5^(-1) can also be written as 0.2.

Understanding negative exponents is important because they often appear in various mathematical contexts, such as scientific notation and algebra. Remember, a negative exponent tells you to take the reciprocal of the base number raised to the corresponding positive exponent.