Exponent Calculator

Exponent Calculator raises any base to any power and explains what the exponent is doing. For a whole-number power it writes out the multiplication, which is the clearest way to see that two to the tenth is ten twos multiplied, not two multiplied by ten.

Negative and fractional exponents are where most confusion lives, so both are handled and both are explained. A negative exponent means the reciprocal: five to the minus two is one over twenty-five, or 0.04. A fractional exponent is a root: a number to the power one half is its square root. Neither rule is arbitrary; both fall out of the law that dividing powers subtracts exponents.

Two cases are refused rather than answered. Zero to the power zero is genuinely undefined, since different areas of mathematics assign it different values for different reasons. A negative base with a fractional exponent asks for an even root of a negative number, which has no real value.

The page shows its working, not just its answer. Where there is a formula it is printed with your own numbers substituted in, so you can check the result rather than take it on trust -- which is the difference between a calculator you can use for something that matters and one you cannot.

Everything runs inside your browser. What you type is never uploaded, never logged and never stored, and the calculator keeps working if your connection drops after the page has loaded.

• Shows result, with a negative exponent, in scientific notation, digits and as a root together, so you are not running it twice
• Prints the formula with your own figures substituted in
• Updates as you type, with no button to press and no page reload
• Copy the result in one click
• Free, no sign-up, and it runs entirely in your browser

The exponent calculator is used by writers, developers, students, marketers and anyone else who needs the job done once without installing software. Common cases include:

• Working out a power too large for mental arithmetic
• Understanding what a negative exponent means
• Converting between roots and fractional powers
• Checking a growth factor over several periods