What is an exponent ? Definition and examples.

An exponent is a number that tells the number of times the base is used as a factor.

Exponent


In 203, 3 is the exponent and 20 is the base. The exponent ( 3 ) tells us that the base ( 20 ) will be a factor 3 times.

20  × 20  × 20

Other examples

In 129, 9 is the exponent.

In 7-2, -2 is the exponent.

In 5147, 147 is the exponent.

Be careful!


A common mistake by students is to say that 64 = 6 
× 4.

64 is not equal to 6  × 4.

It is equal to

6 × 6 × 6 × 6

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