Please help! This is a statistics question for those of you who can help me.

Is a positive integer raised to a negative power always positive

Saline iv fluid bags cost $64.20 for 24, 1000 ml bags from one supplier. a new supplier sells 500 ml bags for $2 each. the hospital uses about 10,000, 1000 ml bags each month. nurses report that about half of the bags are more than half full when they are discarded. if you are going to use only one supplier, which size bag provides the best deal, and how much will you save each month? compare the cost of the new supplier to the current one.

Ametal rod needs to be 9 feet and 5.5 inches in length. the sections of the poles being used are each 1 foot and 10.5 inches long. how many 1ft 10.5in sections would be needed to complete the 9ft 5.5in metal rod? and how many inches of material will be left?