What does it mean a number to the 5th or 6th power mean?

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Answer 1 · 2018-05-22T19:53:19

It means that the number is multiplied by itself that many times.

As I said in the answer, we can think of exponents as a way of shortening the statement "A number #n# multiplied by itself #i# times"

If we wrote the quoted statement as a mathematical expression:

#nxxnxxnxxn...xxn=n^i#

Translating this abstract explanation into a more concrete example:

#2^1=2#

#2^2=2xx2#

#2^3=2xx2xx2#

#2^4=2xx2xx2xx2#

#2^5=2xx2xx2xx2xx2#

The special conditions here are fractional/decimal exponents and zero.

A number raised to a fraction is the same as saying the "#k#th root" of a number raised to the #i#th power:

#n^(i/k)=root(k)(n^i)#

An exponent of zero always results in 1:

#1^0=1#

#2^0=1#

...

#750^0=1#

#n^0=1#