Question

Josh examines the expression5^-m/5^m where m is greater than 0.He claims that the expression has a value equal to 1 because it sim-plifies to 5^0, and any integer to the 0 power is 1.Is Josh correct? Explain why or why not.Answer in complete sentences.

Answer 1

we have the expression

$\frac{5^{(-m)}}{5^m}=5^{(-m-m)}=5^{(-2m)}=\frac{1}{5^{(2m)}}=\frac{1}{25^m}$

therefore

Josh is not correct

because the expression is not equal to 1

when subtracting, the exponent is -2m, not zero