Enter a base and an exponent to work out x to the power of n — any number raised to any power, instantly and accurately.
Use “e” for scientific notation — e.g. 4e2, 2e-6, 2.46e15
You’ll see the same idea written several ways — xn, x^n, or “x to the nth power.” They all mean exactly the same thing, and the calculator above handles all of them, including negative, decimal, and fractional powers.
Exponents have their own spoken shorthand. Here’s how to say the most common ones:
| Written | Said as | Means |
|---|---|---|
| x2 | “x squared” or “x to the power of 2” | x × x |
| x3 | “x cubed” or “x to the power of 3” | x × x × x |
| x4 | “x to the power of 4” (or “x to the fourth”) | x × x × x × x |
| xn | “x to the power of n” (or “x to the nth power”) | x multiplied by itself n times |
Why “squared” and “cubed”? The names come straight from geometry: the area of a square with side x is x2, and the volume of a cube with side x is x3. There’s no everyday word for the fourth power and beyond, so we simply say “to the power of 4,” “to the power of 5,” and so on.
| In words | Written | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to the power of 3 | 23 | 8 |
| 5 to the power of 2 | 52 | 25 |
| 10 to the power of 6 | 106 | 1,000,000 |
| 7 to the power of 0 | 70 | 1 |
| 2 to the power of −2 | 2−2 | 0.25 |
| 9 to the power of 0.5 | 90.5 | 3 |
You say it as “x to the power of n.” For example, 23 is read “2 to the power of 3,” which equals 2 × 2 × 2 = 8.
2 to the power of 3 means 2 × 2 × 2, which equals 8.
Any non-zero number to the power of 0 equals 1 — for example, 7 to the power of 0 is 1.
The base is the number being multiplied; the power (or exponent) is how many times you multiply it by itself. In “5 to the power of 2,” the base is 5 and the power is 2.
Yes. A negative power gives a fraction (2−2 = 0.25), and a fractional power gives a root (90.5 = 3).