Exercise 22 Page 323

The expression (- 112)^2, or - 112 to the second power, can be written as the product of two - 112 terms. Note that when multiplying two negative numbers, we obtain a positive number. (- a)(- a) = a* aThis means that any real negative number raised to an even power will result in a positive result. Let's evaluate the expression.

( - 1/12)^2

Rewrite

Rewrite (- 1/12)^2 as (- 1/12)* (- 1/12)

( - 1/12)* (- 1/12)

MultNegNegTwoPar

(- a)(- b)=a* b

1/12*1/12

MultFrac

Multiply fractions

1* 1/12* 12

IdPropMult

Identity Property of Multiplication

1/12* 12

Multiply

Multiply

1/144

Using a calculator, we can either enter (- 112)^2, or 112 * 12, or 1144. All of the expressions give us the same answer.