Simplify (2^-1)^2

${(2^{- 1})}^{2}$

Step 1

Multiply the exponents in ${(2^{- 1})}^{2}$ .

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

$2^{- 1 \cdot 2}$

Multiply $- 1$ by $2$ .

$2^{- 2}$

Step 2

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

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

Step 3

Raise $2$ to the power of $2$ .

$\frac{1}{4}$

Step 4

The result can be shown in multiple forms.

Exact Form:

$\frac{1}{4}$

Decimal Form:

$0.25$