How to use the Exponent Calculator
- Enter the base.
- Enter the exponent (power).
- Read the result and its scientific notation.
What does this tool do?
An exponent says how many times to multiply a number by itself: 2⁵ = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 32. A negative exponent means the reciprocal (2⁻³ = 1/8), and a fractional exponent means a root (9^0.5 = 3).
Very large and very small results are also shown in scientific notation.
Why use it?
- Handles negative and decimal exponents.
- Explains impossible cases, such as 0 to a negative power.
- Shows scientific notation for huge numbers.
Example
1.05^10 ≈ 1.6289. That's how much $1 grows to after 10 years at 5% compound interest.
The formula
Privacy
The calculation happens instantly in your browser. The numbers you enter are not sent to our servers or saved. There's no account to create and nothing to install.
Frequently asked questions
What is any number to the power of 0?
1 — for any non-zero number. Mathematicians usually also define 0⁰ as 1, which is what this calculator returns.
Why is −2² different from (−2)²?
The exponent applies before the minus sign unless brackets say otherwise. −2² means −(2 × 2) = −4, while (−2)² means (−2) × (−2) = 4. Calculators and spreadsheets don't all treat this the same way, so brackets are the safe choice.
Last reviewed by the M2Toolkit team.