What is 10^(-3)?

10^(-3) is equal to 0.001.

When you see a negative exponent, it means you take the reciprocal of the base raised to the positive version of that exponent. In this case, 10^(-3) means 1 divided by 10^3.

To break it down further, 10^3 (or 10 cubed) is 10 * 10 * 10, which equals 1000. So, 10^(-3) is the same as 1/1000. When you divide 1 by 1000, you get 0.001.

Negative exponents can seem tricky at first, but they simply indicate that you need to flip the fraction. For example, 2^(-2) would be 1/(2^2), which equals 1/4 or 0.25.

Understanding negative exponents is important because they often appear in scientific notation and various mathematical contexts. They help us express very small numbers in a more manageable form. For instance, 0.001 can be written as 10^(-3), making it easier to read and work with in calculations.