Base of a Power Practice Problems & Exercises Online

Master the base of powers with step-by-step practice problems. Learn to identify bases, work with positive/negative numbers, and solve exponent equations.

📚Master Base of Powers Through Interactive Practice
  • Identify the base in power expressions like a² and (-3)⁴
  • Determine positive or negative results based on base and exponent signs
  • Solve equations with missing exponents like 7^□ = 49
  • Calculate powers with fractional bases like (2/3)³
  • Apply power rules to algebraic expressions with multiple variables
  • Read and interpret power notation correctly in mathematical context

Understanding Basis of a power

Complete explanation with examples

The base of the power is the number that is multiplied by itself as many times as indicated by the exponent.
The base appears as a number or algebraic expression. In its upper right corner, the exponent is shown in small.

The base of the power has to stand out clearly since it is the base!

The base of the power can be positive or negative and, depending on the exponent, the sign in the result will be modified.

A - Base of a power

Detailed explanation

Practice Basis of a power

Test your knowledge with 16 quizzes

\( \sqrt{x}=2 \)

Examples with solutions for Basis of a power

Step-by-step solutions included
Exercise #1

Choose the expression that is equal to the following:

27 2^7

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we'll focus on expressing the power 27 2^7 as a series of multiplications.

  • Step 1: Identify the given power expression 27 2^7 .
  • Step 2: Convert 27 2^7 into a product of repeated multiplication. This involves writing 2 multiplied by itself for a total of 7 times.
  • Step 3: The expanded form of 27 2^7 is 2×2×2×2×2×2×2 2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 \times 2 .

By comparing this expanded form with the provided choices, we see that the correct expression is:

2222222 2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2

Therefore, the solution to the problem is the expression that matches this expanded multiplication form, which is the choice 1: 2222222\text{1: } 2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2.

Answer:

2222222 2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2

Video Solution
Exercise #2

Which of the following is equivalent to the expression below?

10,0001 10,000^1

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we will apply the rule of exponents:

  • Any number raised to the power of 1 remains unchanged. Therefore, by the identity property of exponents, 10,0001=10,000 10,000^1 = 10,000 .

Given the choices:

  • 10,00010,000 10,000 \cdot 10,000 : This is 10,0002 10,000^2 .
  • 10,0001 10,000 \cdot 1 : Simplifying this expression yields 10,000, which is equivalent to 10,0001 10,000^1 .
  • 10,000+10,000 10,000 + 10,000 : This results in 20,000, not equivalent to 10,0001 10,000^1 .
  • 10,00010,000 10,000 - 10,000 : This results in 0, not equivalent to 10,0001 10,000^1 .

Therefore, the correct choice is 10,0001 10,000 \cdot 1 , which simplifies to 10,000, making it equivalent to 10,0001 10,000^1 .

Thus, the expression 10,0001 10,000^1 is equivalent to:

10,0001 10,000 \cdot 1

Answer:

10,0001 10,000\cdot1

Video Solution
Exercise #3

112= 11^2=

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Set up the multiplication as 11×11 11 \times 11 .
  • Step 2: Compute the product using basic arithmetic.
  • Step 3: Compare the result with the provided multiple-choice answers to identify the correct one.

Now, let's work through each step:
Step 1: We begin with the calculation 11×11 11 \times 11 .
Step 2: Perform the multiplication:

  1. Multiply the units digits: 1×1=1 1 \times 1 = 1 .
  2. Next, for the tens digits: 11×10=110 11 \times 10 = 110 .
  3. Add the results: 110+1=111 110 + 1 = 111 . This doesn't seem right, so let's break it down further.

Let's examine a more structured multiplication method:

Multiply 11 11 by 1 1 (last digit of the second 11), we get 11.
Multiply 11 11 by 10 10 (tens place of the second 11), we get 110.

If we align correctly and add the partial products:

     11
+   110
------------
   121

Step 3: The correct multiplication yields the final result as 121 121 . Upon reviewing the provided choices, the correct answer is choice 4: 121 121 .

Therefore, the solution to the problem is 121 121 .

Answer:

121

Video Solution
Exercise #4

62= 6^2=

Step-by-Step Solution

To solve this problem, we'll follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Recognize that 62 6^2 means 6×6 6 \times 6 .
  • Step 2: Perform the multiplication of 6 by itself.

Now, let's work through each step:
Step 1: The expression 62 6^2 indicates we need to multiply 6 by itself.
Step 2: Calculating 6×6 6 \times 6 gives us 36.

Therefore, the value of 62 6^2 is 36.

Answer:

36

Video Solution
Exercise #5

Which of the following clauses is equal to 100?

Step-by-Step Solution

To determine which expression equals 100, we need to evaluate each option:

  • Option 1: 5255^2\cdot5
    - Calculate 52=255^2 = 25.
    - Then compute 255=12525 \cdot 5 = 125.
  • Option 2: 4244^2\cdot4
    - Calculate 42=164^2 = 16.
    - Then compute 164=6416 \cdot 4 = 64.
  • Option 3: 25425^4
    - Calculate (254)(25^4), which simplified through breakdown is larger than 100 because 252=62525^2 = 625. Hence this 25 to the power of 4 will definitely be much larger than 100.
  • Option 4: 52225^2\cdot2^2
    - Calculate 52=255^2 = 25.
    - Calculate 22=42^2 = 4.
    - Compute 254=10025 \cdot 4 = 100.

Therefore, the expression in Option 4, 52225^2\cdot2^2, equals 100. Thus, the correct choice is 4.

Thus, the clause that equals 100 is 52225^2\cdot2^2.

Answer:

5222 5^2\cdot2^2

Video Solution

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the base of a power in math?

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The base of a power is the number or algebraic expression that gets multiplied by itself as many times as indicated by the exponent. In the expression a², the base is 'a' and it appears as the larger number with the exponent shown small in the upper right corner.

How do you find the base when solving power equations?

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To find the base in equations like x² = 49, you can use two methods: 1) Take the square root of both sides (√49 = 7), or 2) Use substitution by testing values until you find the correct base that produces the given result.

What happens when the base of a power is negative?

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When the base is negative, the sign of the result depends on the exponent: • Even exponent: result is positive ((-2)⁴ = 16) • Odd exponent: result is negative ((-2)³ = -8). This follows the rule that multiplying an even number of negative signs gives positive, while an odd number gives negative.

How do you calculate powers with fractional bases?

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For fractional bases like (2/3)³, multiply the fraction by itself the number of times indicated by the exponent. Calculate the numerator and denominator separately: (2/3)³ = (2×2×2)/(3×3×3) = 8/27.

Can the base of a power be an algebraic expression?

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Yes, the base can be any number or algebraic expression. Examples include simple variables (a²), expressions with multiple terms (x+y)³, or complex expressions ((2x-1)⁴). The exponent applies to the entire base expression.

How do you read power expressions aloud?

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Power expressions have special reading conventions: • a² = "a squared" or "a to the second power" • a³ = "a cubed" or "a to the third power" • a⁴ = "a to the fourth power" • Higher powers follow the pattern "a to the nth power"

What's the difference between (-3)² and -3²?

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The parentheses make a crucial difference: (-3)² means the entire negative number is the base, so (-3)² = 9 (positive). However, -3² means only 3 is the base with the negative sign applied after, so -3² = -9 (negative).

Why is identifying the base important in algebra?

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Correctly identifying the base is essential for: solving exponential equations, applying power rules like (aᵐ)ⁿ = aᵐⁿ, determining the sign of results, and working with algebraic expressions. Misidentifying the base leads to incorrect calculations and wrong answers.

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