We use exponents as a shorthand way of writing calculations such as:

31 x 31 x 31 x 31 x 31

This is a multiplication of the base number 31 by itself five times and so can be written as:

31⁵ 

5 is the exponent

NB This is not the same as 31 x 5

When there are two base numbers, such as 31 and 41, we deal with them separately.

31 x 31 x 31 x 41 x 41

This is a multiplication of the base number 31 by itself three times and the base number 41 by itself twice, so can be written as:

31³ x 41²

Let's have a go at some questions now.