1. What is an Exponent?
Imagine your teacher asks you to write this on the whiteboard:
2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2
Your hand will feel very tired, right?
In math, we have a shortcut to write long multiplications. We write it like this:
2¹⁰
🔹The Big Number (2) is called the Base. This is the number that multiplies itself.
🔹The Small Number (10) is called the Exponent or Power. It tells you how many times you repeat the multiplication.
So, 2¹⁰ simply means: “Multiply 2 by itself, 10 times!”
2. The Golden Rules of Exponents
To solve exponent problems easily, you only need to remember these simple rules:
Rule A: Multiplication (Add the Powers)
If the base numbers are the same and you multiply them, just add the exponents.
Formula:
Example:
Rule B: Division (Subtract the Powers)
If the base numbers are the same and you divide them, just subtract the exponents.
Formula:
Example:
Rule C: Power of a Power (Multiply the Powers)
If a power is inside a bracket, and there is another power outside, just multiply them together.
Formula: (aᵐ)ⁿ ﹦ aᵐ×ⁿ
Example: (5²)³ = 5⁶
Rule D: The Zero Power (Always Equals 1)
Any number (except zero) with a power of 0 is always equal to 1. It does not matter how big the number is!
Formula: a⁰ = 1
Example: 100⁰ = 1
Let’s Try One Example!
Let’s simplify this problem step-by-step:
Step 2: Do the Division.
Subtract the powers: (7 – 5 = 2). So, it becomes 2².
Step 1: Do the top part first (Multiplication).
Add the powers: (3 + 4 = 7). So, it becomes 2⁷.
Step 3: Calculate the final answer.
2² = 2 x 2 = 4.
The final answer is 4. Super easy, right?
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