What Does Exponent Mean?

Exponent notation is a short-hand for multiplying a number by itself some number of times. For example, 10² is the same as 10 x 10. Here are a few more examples...

   5³ = 5 x 5 x 5 = 125

   2⁸ = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 256

The small, raised value in the notation is called the exponent. For 5³, the value 3 is the exponent.

Exponential values where the base value is multiplied twice (3², 5², 43², etc.) are called "squares."  Exponential values where the base value is multiplied three times(3³, 5³, 43³, etc.) are called "cubes."

Scientific notation is often used as a way to express really large or small numbers by using powers of 10 using exponential notation. For example...

   10⁸ = 100,000,000  (that is to say, a 1 followed by eight zeros)

   10¹² = 1,000,000,000,000  (that is to say, a 1 followed by twelve zeros)

It is common to include a multiplier to express values in scientific notation...

    6.023 x 10²³ = 60,230,000,000,000,000,000,000 (Avagadro's number)

    3.0 x 10⁸ = 300,000,000 (common approximation of speed of light in a vacuum in m/s)

You can find more information on scientific and exponential notation here.

You can find practice exercises for exponent problems here.