Exponent Calculator
Enter a base and an exponent. Whole-number powers are worked out exactly, even when the answer has hundreds of digits, and negative powers are given as fractions.
You can type fractions for the exponent, such as 1/3 for a cube root.
Worked examples
A whole-number power
2 to the power of 10
1,024
Ten twos multiplied together.
A negative exponent
2 to the power of -3
1/8 (0.125)
One divided by 2 cubed, which is 8.
About Exponent Calculator
An exponent, or power, says how many times a number is multiplied by itself. Two to the power of ten is 2 multiplied by itself ten times, which is 1,024. This calculator takes a base and an exponent and gives the result, keeping every digit when the exponent is a whole number, so a power like 2 to the power of 100 is shown in full rather than being rounded off.
Negative and fractional exponents are handled as well. A negative exponent means one divided by the positive power, so 2 to the power of -3 is exactly 1/8. A fractional exponent is a root, so a power of 1/2 is a square root and a power of 1/3 is a cube root. When the base is negative, the page tells you whether the answer is a real number: -8 to the power of 1/3 is -2, but -8 to the power of 1/2 is not real.
How to use Exponent Calculator
- Enter the base, the number being multiplied, in the first box.
- Enter the exponent in the second box. It can be negative, a decimal or a fraction such as 1/3.
- Read the exact value, the fraction form where there is one, and the scientific notation.
- Use the copy button for very long answers to take the full digits elsewhere.
Common uses
- Finding powers of 2 for computing and storage sizes
- Compound growth and decay calculations
- Checking squares, cubes and higher powers in homework
- Turning a negative exponent into a fraction
Frequently asked questions
What does a negative exponent mean?
It means divide instead of multiply. A number to the power of -n is 1 divided by the number to the power of n, so 10 to the power of -2 is 1/100, which is 0.01.
What is any number to the power of zero?
It is 1, for every non-zero number. Zero to the power of zero is taken as 1 on this page, which is the usual convention, though it is sometimes left undefined in other settings.
How do I find a square root or cube root?
Use an exponent of 1/2 for a square root and 1/3 for a cube root. For roots with simplified forms, the square root and nth root calculator on this site shows the working.
Why can a negative base give no answer?
A negative number to a fractional power may need an even root, such as the square root of a negative number, which is not a real number. Odd roots are fine, so -27 to the power of 1/3 is -3.
How big can the answer be?
Whole-number powers are worked out in full for answers of several thousand digits. Beyond that, very large answers are shown in scientific notation or reported as too large.