Exponent Calculator

Enter the base and exponent to calculate the result below.

a^x = ?

How to Calculate an Exponent

An exponent is the number of times the base value should be multiplied by itself. To calculate a number raised to an exponent, multiply the number by itself for each value of the exponent.

So 5² is the same as 5 × 5 and 5³ is the same as 5 × 5 × 5.

Calculating an exponent is also sometimes referred to as raising a number to the nth power.

How to Calculate a Negative Exponent

What do you do if the exponent is negative? For a negative exponent rather than multiplying the number by itself the number of times for the exponent, you divide the number by itself, starting with 1.

So 5^-2 is the same as 1 ÷ 5 ÷ 5 and 5^-3 is the same as 1 ÷5 ÷ 5 ÷ 5.

Negative exponents are often expressed as 1 over the base with a positive exponent.

5^-2 = 1 / 5²

Special Exponent Rules

There are some special rules with exponents that are important to remember.

When the exponent is 1, the result of raising a base to the exponent will always be equal to the base.

a¹ = a

When the exponent is 0, the result of raising a base to the exponent will always be equal to 1.

a⁰ = 1

When the exponent is 2 you can also say that the base value is squared. When the exponent is 3 you can say that the base value is cubed.

The calculator above will handle these special cases along with negative exponents to solve the answer.

Exponent Table