TV on a Rolling Cart

How to Square a Number | What Does Squaring a Number Mean? | Exponents | Math with Mr. J

From Math with Mr. J

How to Square a Number | What Does Squaring a Number Mean? | Exponents | Math with Mr. J
3 min6thMath
access

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.

Viewer safety

All ages

Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.

Teaching resources

Discussion questions

An exponent tells how many times to multiply the base by itself.

  1. What do the base and the exponent each tell you?
  2. What does it mean to square or cube a number?
  3. 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.
How to Square a Number | What Does Squaring a Number Mean? | Exponents | Math with Mr. J — TV on a Rolling Cart