Evaluate -81^(1/2)

$- 81^{\frac{1}{2}}$

Step 1

Simplify the expression.

Rewrite $81$ as $9^{2}$ .

$- {(9^{2})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$

Apply the power rule and multiply exponents, ${(a^{m})}^{n} = a^{m n}$ .

$- 9^{2 (\frac{1}{2})}$

Step 2

Cancel the common factor of $2$ .

Cancel the common factor.

$- 9^{2 (\frac{1}{2})}$

Rewrite the expression.

$- 9^{1}$

Step 3

Simplify the expression.

Evaluate the exponent.

$- 1 \cdot 9$

Multiply $- 1$ by $9$ .

$- 9$