Powers

In mathematics, a power indicates how many times a number (the base) is multiplied by itself. For example, 3² means 3 times 3, which equals 9. The number being multiplied is called the base, and the small number (the exponent) shows how many times to use the base as a factor. Powers express large or small numbers compactly and are useful in science, engineering, and finance for calculations involving growth, decay, or repeated multiplication.