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.

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.

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