Power calculator
Power calculator Positive, negative and fractional exponents. Rules and scientific notation included.
A =
Enter the base number for power calculation
B =
Enter the exponent for power calculation
AB =
What is a power?
A power is repeated multiplication: a^n means a × a × … × a (n times). E.g. 4³ = 4 × 4 × 4 = 64.
Powers turn up in geometry (squares, cubes), science (very large or small numbers) and computing.
Power rules
- Product: a^m × a^n = a^(m+n).
- Quotient: a^m ÷ a^n = a^(m−n).
- Power of a power: (a^m)^n = a^(m×n).
- Negative exponent: a^(−n) = 1 / a^n.
- Zero exponent: a^0 = 1, if a ≠ 0.
Scientific notation
Scientific notation writes numbers as a × 10^n where 1 ≤ a < 10. Handy for huge or tiny values.
E.g. 5,600,000 = 5.6 × 10⁶.
Example powers
4³ = 64.
2⁴ = 16.
5⁻² = 0.04.
2³ × 2² = 2⁵ = 32.
Where you’ll see powers
- Squares (²) and cubes (³) in geometry.
- Computing: powers of 2 (bytes, memory).
- Science: scientific notation and scale (e.g. 10⁹).
- Finance: compound interest growth.
Quick reference
- Why is 0⁰ tricky? It’s usually left undefined.
- Negative base? Even power → positive result; odd power → negative.
- Need the full working? Use the home-page solver for a step-by-step derivation.