An exponent is a number that indicates how many times a certain number, say b, is multiplied by itself. The expression 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 can be written as 2⁴, where 4 is the exponent and 2 is called the base. An exponent, which is also called a power, is written as a superscript of the base number. A base b raised to a power n is written as bⁿ.

Exponent is a simple but powerful idea and can be used to create shortcuts in problems. To multiply 2⁴ by 2⁶, for instance, simply add the powers to find the product 2^{4 + 6}, or 2¹⁰.

What if 2⁴ is multiplied by 3⁶? The bases, 2 and 3, are different. In this case, the product cannot be found by adding the powers. The following are the three basic rules of exponents. Using these three laws, more properties of exponents can be found.

1. When multiplying two numbers with the same base...