What does ^ mean in math? I see people writing it as a symbol on this site often! Thanks!

it means to the power of.

three squared is written 3^2, instead of 32

WOW! Thanks!

In mathematics, the symbol "^" is used to represent exponentiation, also known as raising a number to a power. It indicates that the number or variable preceding it is being raised to the power specified after the "^" symbol.

For example, if you see the expression "2^3", it means 2 raised to the power of 3, which is equal to 2 * 2 * 2 = 8. Similarly, "x^2" represents x raised to the power of 2, and "y^5" represents y raised to the power of 5.

The usage of "^" as an exponentiation symbol is common in many programming languages and calculators as well. If you need to calculate an exponentiation, you can often find a button or function with the "^" symbol on your calculator or use the caret symbol "^" in programming languages.

It's worth noting that in some programming languages, such as Python, the double asterisk "**" is used instead of the caret symbol "^" for exponentiation. So, be aware of which symbol is used in the specific context you encounter.