Exponent
The small raised number in a power, saying how many times to multiply: in 2⁵, the exponent 5 means 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2.
2 5means "multiply 2 by itself, five 2s in all": 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32. The number being multiplied is the base and the count is the exponent. On paper it's written small and raised, 2⁵, and said "two to the fifth". Two exponents have their own names:x2 is "x squared" (the area of a square with side x), andx ** 3is "x cubed".
Try it now
Each step doubles the last. Slide n and watch how quickly the numbers run away.
Learn it properly
Powers, roots and powers of ten · Repeated multiplication, e-notation like 3e-4, square roots and doubling. About 20 minutes.
Other terms from the same lesson
- e-notation: A way to write very big or very small numbers with a power of ten: 3e-4 means 3 × 10⁻⁴, which is 0.0003.
- order of magnitude: A power of ten. Two numbers three orders of magnitude apart differ by a factor of about 1,000.
- square root: The number that, multiplied by itself, gives the one you started with. The square root of 25 is 5.
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