Exponent

Pronunciation: /ˈɛks poʊ nənt/ ?

An exponent is used to indicate repeated multiplication, raising a base to a power. For example, 22 means base 2 raised to the power of 2 or 2 multiplied by itself 2 times: 2·2 = 4. 34 means 3·3·3·3 = 81. The process of raising a base to an exponent is called exponentiation.

An exponent can also be called a power. In British english, an exponent is called an index (plural indices).

A value with an exponent that is a unit fraction is called a root or a radical. A special notation is used for roots. The base of the expression is placed inside of a radical sign (***** HERE *****

A negative exponent is used to indicate multiplication by a reciprocal (or multiplicative inverse), which is equivalent to division. So 2-3 = 1/(23) = 1/8.

Properties of Exponents

The properties of exponents can be derived from the definition of exponent.

PropertyExplanation
b<sup>m</sup>·b<sup>n</sup> = b<sup>m+n</sup> As an example, let m=2 and n=3.
Then
b<sup>m</sup> = b<sup>2</sup> = b·b,
and
b<sup>n</sup> = b<sup>3</sup> = b·b·b.
So
b<sup>m</sup>·b<sup>n</sup> = b<sup>2</sup>·b<sup>3</sup>
Since there are five b's multiplied together,
b·b · b·b·b = b<sup>5</sup>
b<sup>-n</sup> = 1/(b<sup>n</sup>) Mathematicians use a negative exponent to mean division, or to mean the reciprocal of a number.
b<sup>m</sup>/b<sup>n</sup> = b<sup>m-n</sup> This says that when we use a negative exponent, we mean the multiplicative inverse, or reciprocal. To see how that works, look at the expression
b^3/b^2
Because exponents mean repeated multiplication, we can write this expression as
b*b*b/b*b
And, because of the commutative property of multiplication we can write this as
(b/b)*(b/b)*b
But, since anything divided by itself is 1, this becomes
(b/b)*(/b)*b=1*1*b=b
So we can write this as
b<sup>3</sup>·b<sup>-2</sup> = b<sup>3-2</sup> = b<sup>1</sup> = b
b<sup>0</sup> = 1, b ≠ 0

To see why this is true, we will start with the right-hand side of the identity, 1. Start with the fact than any number divided by itself is 1, except for 0. So,

1=(b^m)/(b^m)
But, by the property of dividing by exponents,
(b^m)/(b^m)=b^(m-m)
We also know that any number less itself is zero, so
b^(m-m)=b^0
So,
B^0=1

(b<sup>n</sup>)<sup>m</sup> = b<sup>m·n</sup>

Here, it is important to note that

(b^m)<n does not equal b^m^n
In the first, we raise b to the m power then raise that result to the n power. In the second, we raise m to the n power and take that result and raise b to that power. The two have different meanings.

This concept is an extension of the property that bm·bn = bm+n. However, we are dealing with repeated multiplication in both steps. Let's start with bm. Let m=3. Then,

b^3=b*b*b
But, if n = 2, then
(b^3)^2=(b^3)*(b^3)
Because the second exponent n=2 mean multiply b3 by itself twice. So,
b^3)^2=(b^3)*(b^3)=b^(3+3)=b^6=b^(2*3)
So,
(b<sup>m</sup>)<sup>n</sup>=b<sup>m·n</sup>
(a*b)^n=a^n*b^n Exponentiation distributes across multiplication.
(a/b)^n=(a^n)/(b^n) Exponentiation distributes across division.
a^(m/n)=(nth root of a) to the mth power=nth root of (a to the mth power) The numerator of a fractional exponent is a power. The denominator is a root.

Cite this article as:
Exponent. 2010-02-02. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/e/exponent.html.

Translations

Image Credits

Revision History


2010-02-02: Added "References" (McAdams, David.)
2009-02-10: Added fractional exponent (McAdams, David.)
2009-01-09: Added distributive properties of exponentiation (McAdams, David.)
2009-01-04: Added 'More Information' (McAdams, David.)
2008-11-25: Changed equations to images (McAdams, David.)
2008-02-04: Correct typographical errors (McAdams, David.)
2007-08-07: Initial Version (McAdams, David.)

All Math Words Encyclopedia is a service of Life is a Story Problem.org.
Copyright © 2005-2011 Life is a Story Problem.org. All rights reserved.
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License