Summary
An introduction to exponents -- what a base and an exponent mean and how to evaluate whole-number powers like squares and cubes. Mr. J shows exponents as repeated multiplication.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
An exponent tells how many times to multiply the base by itself.
- What do the base and the exponent each tell you?
- What does it mean to square or cube a number?
- Why is 2 to the 3rd power equal to 8?
Quick work-a-long
Words to know: base, exponent, power, squared, cubed
- Write 4 x 4 x 4 using an exponent, then evaluate it.
- Find 5 squared and 2 cubed.