Negative Exponents Calculator

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Updated September 26, 2026 •1 min read

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A negative exponent means taking the reciprocal of the corresponding positive power.

What this calculator does

Enter a nonzero base and a negative exponent. The result shows b^x and the reciprocal form based on |x|.

How the calculation works

For x < 0, b^x = 1 / b^|x|. A base of zero is not allowed because it would require division by zero.

Worked example

10^-2 = 1/10^2 = 0.01. Likewise, 3^-5 = 1/243 ≈ 0.00411523.

Limitations and notes

The calculator is for real numeric exponentiation. Zero with a negative exponent is undefined, and extremely large magnitudes can exceed floating-point range.