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High School Archive

Browse High School Exponents
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Selected answers to common questions:
    Negative exponents.
    Scientific notation.

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Fractional Exponents [03/11/1999]

I am trying to figure out the water consumption of the average goat.

Fractional Exponents [12/07/2003]

When a number is raised to a power like 4/3 or 3/5, how is it done?

Functionality of the Square Root [4/27/1996]

I maintain that the relation indicated by the statement: SQRT(x) = 3D y (limited to real numbers) is a function, whereas my teacher claims it is not.

Graphing y = (-2)^x [05/27/2005]

How do I graph y = (-2)^x, or any function where you have a negative number raised to a power?

Graph of y = (-n)^x [01/17/2005]

I am curious as to what the graph of y = (-n)^(x) would look like, such as y = (-2)^x. My graphing calculator will not show the graph as anything, but displays many real values in the table of values.

Half Life of Money [04/13/2001]

What is the standard accepted formula for determining the amount of time it takes for money to lose half of its value due to inflation? I've found two, they are: t = t = log2/r and t = log2/log(1+r).

History of Exponent Notation [11/03/2003]

Why is the symbol for exponents a smaller number above the base? How did it become this? What is the history of it?

History of the Radical Sign [04/17/1997]

Who invented the radical sign?

History of the Word 'Exponent' [11/26/2003]

Who came up with the name 'exponent'?

How Can a Number Raised to the Zero Power Be One? [01/23/2008]

I know that 3^7 * 3^0 is 3^(7+0) or 3^7. That means that 3^0 must have a value of 1. But how is that possible?

How Do Cube Roots Work? [11/04/2003]

I understand square roots but I'm not sure how to do cube roots. Can you help?

How Many Digits in 13^18 ? [05/15/2003]

Finding the exact number of digits in 13 raised to the 18th power, with and without a calculator.

i and (-1) with Multiple Powers [08/09/2001]

What is the order in which i and (-1) should be raised when using multiple powers? Why is it possible to obtain so many different values?

Importance of Linear Functions [02/06/2002]

What is the importance of linear functions in the real world, and how are they used?

Indirect Proof [02/14/1998]

Prove that sqrt(2) is an irrational number.

Integral of Ln x [3/31/1996]

What is the integral of the natural log of x (ln x)?

Interpreting 2^3^2 [04/26/2001]

Why is 2^3^2 interpreted as 2^(3^2) = 512 instead of (2^3)^2 = 64?

An Introduction to Exponential Growth [10/07/2006]

What exactly is exponential growth? I see an equation in my book, but I'm not sure what it means or how it works.

Investigation Involving Square Root of 2 [07/09/2001]

How can you explain the fact that (665857/470832)^2 = 2?

Is Doubling Exponential? [7/17/1995]

The amount of information storable in silicon has roughly doubled every year. Many authors have written articles about this "exponential growth rate." Is doubling exponential?

(i)th Root and (i)th Power [02/13/1999]

How do you simplify x to the power of i (and 1/i), where x could be any number?

Last Digits and High Exponents [09/26/1998]

Calculate the following expressions without a calculator: 3^1000 and 7^ 134. In each, what is the final digit?

Limits Approaching Infinity [02/16/2002]

Is the only way to answer them by memorizing all the general questions you may come across?

Limits to Paper Folding [05/09/2002]

What is the limit to the number of times that a piece of paper can be folded, and how is it established?

Logarithmic Equivalent of the Inverse Hybolic Cosine Function [10/28/1997]

I recently attempted a question which I think I have done wrong and I was wondering if there were a set formula for this problem...

Log Problem [5/5/1995]

Solve: 3(3^x)+9(3^-x) = 28.

Logs in Different Bases [6/11/1996]

Solving equations with different base logs.

Logs with Different Bases [11/26/1997]

How do you do an addition problem involving logs with different bases?

Manually Calculating Logs and Exponents [12/16/2001]

Can you give me a formula to calculate base 10 logarithms and exponents?

Modular Arithmetic and Finding a 13th Root [11/29/2004]

A discussion of a method for easily finding 13th roots based on modular arithmetic.

More on Why n^0 = 1 [11/03/2007]

If 2^3=2*2*2, 2^2=2*2, and 2^1=2, shouldn't 2^0= __ or nothing, meaning that 2^0=0?

Multiplication of Powered Numbers [02/17/1999]

What is the product of two numbers with different powers, and how many zeros are there at the end of the product?

Multiplying Square Roots of Negative Numbers [11/25/2003]

It seems to me there are two possible ways to interpret a problem like sqrt(-2) * sqrt(-2). One way I get 2 and the other way I get -2. Which solution is correct? What's wrong with the other one?

n^0 Power = 1: Defined or Proved? [04/18/2003]

I have been wondering if a^0 is DEFINED to be 1 or is PROVED to be 1.

Negative Numbers Combined with Exponentials [03/09/2001]

Why in the order of operations is negation a multiplication done after exponentiation, rather than as a part of the base? What about polynomials?

Negative Numbers to Powers [11/23/2001]

If u is an irrational number and x is a negative number, what is x^u? How do I determine even whether that number is positive or negative?

Nested Negative Exponents [8/2/1996]

How do I deal with nested negative exponents?

Nested Radical [02/25/2002]

Prove the following nested radical: sqrt(1+2sqrt(1+3sqrt(1+4sqrt(1+...)))) = 3

Newton's Method and Square Roots [12/04/1998]

Can you explain how finding square roots by hand relates to Newton's method for approximating the zero of a function?

n Factorial - Prove Lower Bound is n^(n/2) [09/11/2001]

I am trying to prove the following: n^(n/2) <= n!

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