An exponent tells you how many times to multiply a number by itself. 5³ means 5 × 5 × 5 = 125. The 5 is the base and the 3 is the exponent. 3² is three squared, which is 9.
Powers of 10 are easy: 10⁵ = 100 000, a 1 followed by five zeros. Do not confuse 3² with 3 × 2. In the order of operations, powers come straight after brackets.
Worked example
2⁵ =
- Multiply 2 by itself 5 times: 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2.
- 2, 4, 8, 16, 32.
Answer:32
Key words
- exponent
- the small raised number
- base
- the number being multiplied
- squared
- to the power 2
- cubed
- to the power 3
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: 6.EE.A.1