MATHEMATICS

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Chapter 12: Exponents And Powers
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Exponents And Powers

1. Large numbers can be written in shorter form using exponents.
For example: 1000 = 103
Here, 103 is called the exponential form of 1000.
10 (the number that is being multiplied) is called the base.
3 (number of times the same number is multiplied by itself) is called the power (or index
or exponent)
2. As the exponent increases by 1 the value becomes ten times the previous value.
1
3. As the exponent decreases by 1 the value becomes th the previous value.
10
1
4. For any non-zero integer ′a′ , a−m = am , where m is a natural number.
a −m b m
5. For a and b non-zero rational numbers, then (b) = (a ) , where m is a natural
number.
6. Laws of exponents: If 'a' and 'b' are rational numbers different from zero and if x, y are
positive integers, then
i. ax × ay = ax+y
ii. ax ÷ ay = ax−y
iii. (ax )y = axy
iv. (ab)x = ax + bx
a x ax
v. (b) = bx
a −x b x
vi. (b) (a)
vii. a0 = 1
viii. (-1) odd number = -1
(-1) even number = 1

7. Exponential Equation: An equation which has an unknown quantity as an exponent is

called an exponential equation.
Example: (i) 5 x = 625 (ii) 3 3x-15 = 1

8. A number is said to be in standard form (or scientific notation) if it can be written as (k

× 10n), where k is real number such that 1 ≤ k < 10, and n is a positive integer.

Example:

i. 160000 = (1.6 × 105)

MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

ii. 1548000 = (1.548 × 106)

iii. 0.0016 = (1.6 × 10-3)
9. To write very small numbers in standard form:
➢ Get the number first and check if it lies between 1 and 10 or less than 1.
➢ When the number is between 1 and 10, then write it as a product of the number
itself and 100.
➢ When the number is less than 1, then shift the decimal point to the right such that
there is only one digit on the left side of the decimal point. Now write the given
number as the product of the number so obtained and 10-n, where n is the number
of places the decimal point has been shifted to the right. Thus, the final number so
obtained is the standard form of the given number.
Powers and Exponents

The power of a number indicates the number of times it must be multiplied. It is written in
the form ab. Where ‘b’ indicates the number of times ‘a’ needs to be multiplied to get our
result. Here ‘a’ is called the base and ‘b’ is called the exponent.
For example: Consider 9³. Here the exponent ‘3’ indicates that base ‘9’ needs to be
multiplied three times to get our equivalent answer which is 27.
General Form of Exponents

The exponent is a simple but powerful tool. It tells us how many times a number should be
multiplied by itself to get the desired result. Thus any number ‘a’ raised to power ‘n’ can be
expressed as:

Here a is any number and n is a natural number.

an is also called the nth power of a.
‘a’ is the base and ‘n’ is the exponent or index or power.
‘a’ is multiplied ‘n’ times, and thereby exponentiation is the shorthand method of repeated
multiplication.
Exponents and Powers Applications

Scientific notation uses the power of ten expressed as exponents, so we need a little
background before we can jump in. In this concept, we round out your knowledge of
exponents, which we studied in previous classes.
The distance between the Sun and the Earth is 149,600,000 kilometres. The mass of the Sun
is 1,989,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms. The age of the Earth is
4,550,000,000 years. These numbers are way too large or small to memorize in this way.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

With the help of exponents and powers, these huge numbers can be reduced to a very
compact form and can be easily expressed in powers of 10.
Now, coming back to the examples we mentioned above, we can express the distance
between the Sun and the Earth with the help of exponents and powers as following:
Distance between the Sun and the Earth 149,600,000 = 1.496 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10× 10 ×
10 = 1.496 × 108 kilometers.
Mass of the Sun: 1,989,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kilograms = 1.989 × 10 30
kilograms.
Age of the Earth: 4,550,000,000 years = 4. 55 × 109 years
Powers with Negative Exponents

A negative exponent in power for any non-integer is basically a reciprocal of the power.
In simple terms, for a non-zero integer a with an exponent -b, a-b = 1ab
Visualising Powers and Exponents

Powers of numbers can easily be visualized in the form of shapes and figures. Consider the
following visulization.

Expanding a Rational Number Using Powers

A given rational number can be expressed in expanded form with the help of exponents.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Consider a number 1204.65. When expanded the number can be written like, 1204.65 =
1000 + 200 + 4 + 0.6 + 0.05 = (1 × 10³) + (2 × 10²) + (0 × 10¹) + (4 × 10-1) + (5×10-2)
Laws of Exponents

Exponents with like Bases

Given a non-zero integer a, am × an = am+n where m and n are integers.
and am ÷ an = am−n where m and n are integers.
For example: 23 × 27 = 27 + 3 = 210
and 2723 = 27−3
Power of a Power
Given a non-zero integer a, (am)n = amn, where m and n are integers.
For example: (24)3 = 24×3 = 212 Given a non-zero integer a,
(a)0 = 1 Any number to the power 0 is always 1.
Exponents with Unlike Bases and Same Exponent
Given two non-zero integers a and b,
am × bm = (a × b)m, where m is an integer.
For example: 23 × 53 = (2 × 5)3 = 103 = 1000
Types of Exponents
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Exponents can be divided into four types based on the number in the power. They are:
Positive exponent
Negative exponent
Zero exponent
Rational exponent
Positive Exponents
Positive exponents can be simplified just by multiplying the base to itself the number of
times indicated by the exponent/power.
Negative Exponents
A negative exponent can be simplified by placing 1 in the numerator and the base along
with the exponent in the denominator of a fraction.
Zero Exponents
Zero exponents Any expression with the exponent as 0 is equal to 1 and no need to
consider the base value during simplification.
Rational Exponents
Rational or fractional exponents will become radical or roots. For example, 31/3 can be
written as 3root of 3, 65/2 can be written as 2 root (or square root) of 6 raises to the power
5.
Uses of Exponents
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Inter Conversion between Standard and Normal Forms

Very large numbers or very small numbers can be represented in the standard form with
the help of exponents.
If it is a very large number like 150,000,000,000, then we need to move the decimal place
towards the left. And when we do so the exponent will be positive.

Since the decimal is moved 11 places till it is placed between 1 and 5, our standard form
representation of the large number will be 1.5×1011
If it is a very small number like 0.000007, we need to move the decimal places to the right
in-order to represent the number in its standard form. When being shifted to the right, the
exponent will be negative.

In this case, the decimal place is moved 6 places up until till it is placed after digit 7.
Therefore, our standard form representation will be
7 × 10−6
The exponents are also useful when converting the number from it’s standard form to it’s
natural form.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Comparison of Quantities Using Exponents

In-order to compare two large or small quantities, we convert them to their standard
exponential form and divide them.
For example: To compare the diameter of the earth and that of the sun.
Diameter of the Earth = 1.2756 × 106m
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Diameter of the Sun =1.4 × 109m

Diameter of the Earth = 1.4 × 109m
1.2756 × 107m = 109
So the diameter of the Sun is 109 times that of the Earth! While calculating the total or the
difference between two quantities, we must first ensure that the exponents of both the
quantities are the same.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

Important Questions
Multiple Choice Questions-
Question 1. am × am is equal to
(a) am+n
(b) am-n
(c) amn
(d) an-m
Question 2. am ÷ an is equal to
(a) am-n
(b) am+n
(c) amn
(d) an-m
Question 3. (am)n is equal to
(a) am+n
(b) am-n
(c) amn
(d) an-m
Question 4. am × bm is equal to
(a) (ab)m
(b) (ab)-m
(c) am b
(d) abm
Question 5. a0 is equal to
(a) 0
(b) 1
(c) -1
(d) a.
𝑎𝑚
Question 6. 𝑏𝑚 is equal to bm
𝑎 𝑚
(a) (𝑏 )
𝑏 𝑚
(b) (𝑎)
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS
𝑎𝑚 𝑚
(c) ( 𝑏 )
𝑎 𝑚
(d) (𝑏𝑚 )
Question 7. 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 is equal to
(a) 24
(b) 2³
(c) 2²
(d) 25
Question 8. In 10², the exponent is
(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 10
(d) 1.
Question 9. In 10² the base is
(a) 1
(b) 0
(c) 10
(d) 100.
Question 10. 10-1 is equal to
(a) 10
(b) -1
1
(c)
10
–1
(d)
10

Very Short Questions:

1. Find the multiplicative inverse of:
(i) 3-3
(ii) 10-10
2. Expand the following using exponents.
(i) 0.0523
(ii) 32.005
3. Simplify and write in exponential form.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

4. Simplify the following and write in exponential form.

5. Express 8-4 as a power with the base 2.

We have 8 = 2 × 2 × 2 = 23
8-4 = (23)-4 = 23×(-4) = 2-12
Short Questions :
1. Simplify the following and write in exponential form.
(i) (36 ÷ 38)4 × 3-4
1
(ii) 27 × 3-3
2. Find the value of k if (-2)k+1 × (-2)3 = (-2)7
3. Simplify the following:

2
3 −2
4. Find the value of [(− 4) ]

5. Write the following in standard form

(i) 0 0035
(ii) 365.05
6. Find the value of P if

Long Questions :
1.

2. Find the value of x if

MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

3. Solve the following: (81)-4 ÷ (729)2-x = 94x

4.

5.

6. Find x so that (-5)x+1 × (-5)5 = (-5)7

Answer Key-
Multiple Choice questions-
1. (a) am+n
2. (a) am-n
3. (c) amn
4. (a) (ab)m
5. (b) 1
𝑎 𝑚
6. (a) (𝑏 )
7. (d) 25
8. (b) 2
9. (c) 10
1
10. (c) 10

Very Short Answer :

1.

2.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

3.

4.

5. We have 8 = 2 × 2 × 2 = 23
8-4 = (23)-4 = 23×(-4) = 2-12
Short Answer :
1.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

2. (-2)k+1 × (-2)3 = (-2)7

⇒ (-2)k+1+3 = (-2)7
⇒ (-2)k+4 = (-2)7
⇒k+4=7
⇒k=3
Hence, k = 3.
3.

4.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

5.

6.

Long Answer :
1.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

2.

⇒ 3 + x = 18 [Equating the powers of same base]

x = 18 – 3 = 15
3.

4.
MATHEMATICS EXPONENTS AND POWERS

5.

6. (-5)x+1 × (-5)5 = (-5)7

(-5)x+1+5 = (-5)7 {am × an = am+n}
(-5)x+6 = (-5)7
On both sides, powers have the same base, so their exponents must be equal.
Therefore, x + 6 = 7
x=7–6=1
x = 1.