A simple step-by-step guide to working out powers — on a phone, a scientific calculator, or right here.
Use “e” for scientific notation — e.g. 4e2, 2e-6, 2.46e15
Type the base — the number you’re raising to a power (for 23, that’s 2).
Press the exponent key: xy, yx, ^, or xn. (The x² key only squares — it won’t do other powers.)
Type the exponent, then press =. The calculator shows the result.
Most phone calculators hide the exponent key in scientific mode. On an iPhone, open Calculator and turn the phone sideways (landscape) to reveal the scientific keys, including xy. On Android, tap the menu, arrow, or “scientific” toggle to find the ^ or xy key. Then follow the same three steps above.
A negative exponent means “one over” the positive power. Enter the exponent, then press the +/− or (−) key to make it negative: 2−2 = 1 / 22 = 0.25.
A fractional exponent is a root. Enter it as a decimal: 90.5 = √9 = 3, and 81/3 = 2 (the cube root of 8). The calculator above accepts decimals and simple fractions like 1/3 directly.
Type the base, press the exponent key (xy, yx, ^, or xn), type the exponent, then press =. For 23: press 2, then xy, then 3, then =.
It’s usually labelled xy, yx, ^, or xn. On many phones the caret (^) appears in scientific mode. The x² key only does powers of 2.
Open the Calculator app and turn the phone sideways to switch to scientific mode. Type the base, press the xy key, type the exponent, then press =.
Multiply the base by itself the number of times shown by the exponent. For 23: 2 × 2 × 2 = 8. Or use the free calculator on this page.
Use the +/− or (−) key to make the exponent negative (2−2 = 0.25). Enter a decimal for fractional powers, such as 0.5 for a square root (90.5 = 3).