What is a power
Example
5 to the power of 2
5^2 = 5*5 = 25
In mathematics, a power is a way of expressing repeated multiplication. It is represented by an expression of the form "a raised to the power of n" or "a^n", where 'a' is called the base and 'n' is called the exponent.
To understand what a power represents, let's take an example: 2^3. This means that we multiply 2 by itself three times: 2 * 2 * 2, which equals 8. So, 2^3 is equal to 8.
Here's how you can calculate a power:
1. Start with the base number.
2. Multiply the base number by itself (exponent - 1) times.
Let's take another example: 5^4. Using the steps above, we have:
1. Start with the base number, 5.
2. Multiply 5 by itself three more times: 5 * 5 * 5 * 5. This gives us 625. So, 5^4 is equal to 625.
Powers are fundamental in many areas of mathematics and are used in various calculations, such as computing large numbers, working with exponential growth or decay, and solving equations involving variables with exponents.