Introduction Lesson for Zero and Negative Exponents

This is a 70 slide PowerPoint Lesson is for the introduction of zero and negative exponents. Students are given a step - by - step explanation for understanding fof the properties of zero and negative exponents. The slides start with a review of exponents and uses this review to look for a pattern. The pattern is extended so students see the reasoning behind the rule "any based raised to the zero power is equivalent to one" and " any base raised to the negative power is equivalent to the reciprocal of the base raised to the exponent as postive." There are plenty of examples and problems for students to try on their own at each step. In fact there are more than 40 examples and "try these" problems. Answers are included in each step of the presentation. Slides 1 - 52 deal with whole number bases with zero and negative exponents. Slides 53- 70 deal with denominators of fractions having negative exponents. You can use this lesson over 2 days. Day 1 slides 1 - 52 and Day 2 slides 53 - 70. This 8th grade math lesson corresponds with the Common Core standard: 8.EE.A.1 Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions.