Evaluate (-5)^-3

${(- 5)}^{- 3}$

Step 1

Rewrite the expression using the negative exponent rule $b^{- n} = \frac{1}{b^{n}}$ .

$\frac{1}{{(- 5)}^{3}}$

Step 2

Raise $- 5$ to the power of $3$ .

$\frac{1}{- 125}$

Step 3

Move the negative in front of the fraction.

$- \frac{1}{125}$

Step 4

The result can be shown in multiple forms.

Exact Form:

$- \frac{1}{125}$

Decimal Form:

$- 0.008$