Exponents

What is an exponent? How do you solve one? Which parts which? Some people might be pondering these questions. If you're one of those people, don't get scared exponents are easy and I'm here to help you understand. Just call the Exponent Queen.

Exponent: A number that tells you how many times to multiply another number.

A start to all those questions would probably be to explain to you the parts of an exponent. You might see something that looks like this: 52. That simply says five to the second power. The number to the left (in this case the 5) is the base. The number to the top right (in this case the 2) is the exponent.

Now that you know the parts of an exponent your probably want to know how to solve it, so here are the steps one by one.

Example: 34

Step 1: Find out what the exponent says. (In this case it says three to the fourth power).

Step 2: Locate your base and exponent. (This problems base is 3 and its exponent is 4).

Step 3: Multiply your base by itself however many times your exponent is. (In our situation you would solve the problem like this: 3*3*3*3=81. Still not sure how I got that answer? Well let me break the problem down. 3*3=9, That's is two 3's. Then, 9*3=27, That's three 3's. Lastly, 27*3= 81, That's four 3's. That's your answer 81).

Step 4: You have your answer! (Ours is 81).

Why do I need to know exponents? Well, one reason is it can help you in other subjects such as science. For example, the scientific notation. You need to know exponents for this to help you to convert the numbers.

Still Need Help? Go to:

http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/exp/LExp.html

Scientific Notation! Go to:

http://www.avalon.net/~bstuder/sci_notation.html