Zero and Negative Exponents

Every time your exponent gets bigger you multiply by the base one more more time

So every time your exponent gets smaller, you divide by the base.

When I go from an exponent of 1 to Zero, I divide my base by itself and end up with 1 (one)

We already know that every time your exponent gets smaller, you divide by the base.

So if I have an exponent smaller than zero, i.e. negative exponent, then I divide 1 by the base as many times as the exponent tells me.

 $eg:\ 3^{-2}\ =\ 1\ \div3\div3\ =\ \frac{1}{3^2}\ or\ \frac{1}{9}$