EDGE Math 8

Positive Integer Exponents

Consider the following equation:

2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 = 32

A shorter way of writing the expression on the left-hand side of the equation above is $2^{5}$ , which is read as "two raised to the fifth power." Hence, the equation can be rewritten as follows:

2^{5} = 32

In the equation $2^{5} = 32$ , 2 is called the base. The small number or superscript 5 above and to the right of 2 is called the exponent. The result or the product, which is 32, is called the fifth power of 2.

The expression $2^{5}$ is called an exponential expression. It can be read in any of the following ways:

two raised to five;
two raised to the fifth power;
two to the five; or
two to the fifth power.