Exponents

In this lesson, we will give a short summary of exponents: positive exponents, zero exponents, negative exponents, fractional exponents, adding exponents and multiplying expoenets.

Positive Exponents

Exponents are a shorthand way to show how many times a number, called the base, is multiplied to itself. A number with an exponent is said to be "raised to the power" of that exponent.

Example:

Two raised to the power of three = 2³ = 2 × 2 × 2 = 8

Any number raised to the power of one equals itself, for example:

15¹ = 15

 

Zero Exponents

Any number (except 0) raised to the zero power equals 1, for example:

322⁰= 1

Negative Exponents

A negative exponent means that the base is changed to its reciprocal and then raised to the power of the positive exponent, for example:

5^-3 =

5⁴ x 5^-3 = 5^4-3 = 5

The following video show more examples of negative exponents:

Fractional Exponent

A fractional exponent in the form of means to take the nth root of the base, for example:

is the square root of 4.

The following video show more examples of fractional exponents:

Adding Exponents

If two numbers with exponents have the same base, you can multiply them by adding the exponents, for example:

45¹⁰ × 45³¹ = 45⁴¹

 

Multiplying Exponents

When you have a power of a power, you multiply the exponents, for example:

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