Exponents

The exponent of a number says how many times to utilise the number in a multiplication.

8 to the Power 2

In 8two the "two" says to employ viii twice in a multiplication,
then eight2 = 8 × 8 = 64

In words: 82 could be called "viii to the power 2" or "8 to the second ability", or simply "8 squared"

Exponents are as well called Powers or Indices.

Some more examples:

Example: 5three = 5 × 5 × five = 125

  • In words: 5iii could be chosen "five to the 3rd ability", "five to the power 3" or simply "5 cubed"

Example: 24 = 2 × ii × 2 × 2 = xvi

  • In words: 24 could be called "2 to the fourth power" or "2 to the power four" or only "ii to the 4th"

Exponents brand it easier to write and apply many multiplications

Instance: 9half dozen is easier to write and read than 9 × nine × nine × 9 × nine × 9

Y'all tin can multiply any number past itself as many times as you want using exponents.

Effort here:

algebra/images/exponent-calc.js

So in general:

an tells you to multiply a by itself,
so there are n of those a's:
exponent definition

Another Way of Writing It

Sometimes people use the ^ symbol (above the 6 on your keyboard), every bit it is easy to type.

Example: two^4 is the aforementioned as ii4

  • two^4 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 16

Negative Exponents

Negative? What could be the opposite of multiplying? Dividing!

So nosotros split by the number each time, which is the same equally multiplying past 1 number

Example: 8-1 = i viii = 0.125

We can continue on like this:

Example: v-3 = 1 5 × 1 five × 1 5 = 0.008

Just it is often easier to do information technology this way:

5-3 could likewise exist calculated like:

1 5 × 5 × 5 = 1 53 = 1 125 = 0.008

Negative? Flip the Positive!

negative-exponent

That last instance showed an easier way to handle negative exponents:

  • Calculate the positive exponent (an )
  • And so accept the Reciprocal (i.e. 1/anorth )

More Examples:

Negative Exponent Reciprocal of
Positive Exponent
Reply
four-2 = 1 / 42 = one/16 = 0.0625
10-three = one / 103 = ane/i,000 = 0.001
(-2)-three = ane / (-ii)3 = ane/(-eight) = -0.125

What if the Exponent is 1, or 0?

1 If the exponent is 1, then you just have the number itself (example ix1 = 9)
0 If the exponent is 0, then you lot become 1 (example 90 = ane)
But what virtually 00 ? It could be either i or 0, and and then people say it is "indeterminate".

Information technology All Makes Sense

If you wait at that table, you volition run into that positive, cypher or negative exponents are really role of the aforementioned (fairly simple) blueprint:

Example: Powers of 5
.. etc.. exponent 5 times larger or smaller
vtwo 5 × five 25
51 5 5
five0 ane 1
5-1 i 5 0.2
5-2 1 5 × 1 5 0.04
.. etc..

Be Careful Virtually Grouping

To avoid confusion, use parentheses () in cases like this:

With () : (−ii)2 = (−two) × (−two) = iv
Without () : −22 = −(ii2) = −(ii × two) = −four

With () : (ab)ii = ab × ab
Without () : ab2 = a × (b)2 = a × b × b

305, 1679, 306, 1680, 1077, 1681, 1078, 1079, 3863, 3864