Power Function Calculator

A power function is a math function where you have a base, and an exponent in the following formula:

, where x represents the base, n is the exponent, and f(x) is the power function. The exponent indicates how many times we will multiply the base. For example, if somebody asks: What is 2 to the power of 30?. We will have to multiply thirty times the number 2. Sounds like a lot, right?

In such cases, we can use our power function calculator. Consequently, the result is 1,073,741,824. But what if we see a problem requiring 4 to the power of 0 or the power of -2? We are going to cover those and other cases in the next section.

Regarding calculating the power of any number, we will use the method explained above but separated into three sections:

• When the exponent is positive: We follow the same process indicated above for power functions. Example: 4 to the power of 4: 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 256.

• When the exponent is negative: Example: What is 2 to the power of -3.

  1. Find out the exponent. In this case: -3. Hence, we will use the - to convert the base to its reciprocal.
  2. Write the reciprocal of the base. If the base is 2, we use 21​21​.
  3. Multiply the new base as many times as the exponent indicates: 21​×21​×21​=81​21​×21​×21​=81​.

• When the exponent is 0: Any number to the power of 0 equals 1.

Since you already know how power functions work, you can take a look at other related tools:

• Exponent calculator;
• Power of 2; and
• Power of 10.