Question

What is an exponent?

Answer 1

An exponent is a number that shows how many times to multiply a number to itself.

For example, the expression $x^n$ means to multiply x itself n times.

More examples.

$5^2$ = 5 * 5

We are going to multiply 5 itself two times. Because we have a two exponent.

$8^3$ = 8 * 8 * 8

8 is being multiplied by itself 3 times because the exponent is 3.

So, that is what exponents are.

Answer 2

Exponents are a way or writing repeated multiplication. For example, the repeated multiplication for writing 4 × 4 can be written in a shorter version as $4^{2}$. An exponent, also called a power tells you how many times to multiply the bigger number which is called the base.