Blake simplified the expression open paren the fraction with numerator x to the 12th power and denominator x to the negative 3 power close paren to the 5th power to the fraction with numerator 1 and denominator x to the 20th power What was Blake’s mistake?

When dividing powers with the same base, subtract the exponents: 12 − (−3) = 15. Then raise the result to the fifth power: 15 × 5 = 75, so the expression is x⁷⁵. Blake’s result, 1/x²⁰ = x⁻²⁰, is consistent with dividing 12 by −3 to get −4 and then multiplying by 5, so he divided the exponents instead of subtracting them.

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