Notes….Zero and Negative Exponents
NAME _____________
Discovering the rules for zero as an exponent, and negative exponents through
patterns.
Fill in the tables below and look for patterns. What do you notice that 20 , 30 , 100
all equal?
A non-zero number to the zero power is __________.
𝒂𝟎 = ______
Now, examine for negative exponents. Fill in the tables below and look for
patterns.
23 =
22 =
21 =
20 =
2−1 =
2−2 =
2−3 =
Definition of a Negative Exponent:
33 =
32 =
31 =
30 =
3−1 =
3−2 =
3−3 =
𝒂−𝒏 =
10
when a ≠ 0.
What if the base is negative?