POWER function

The POWER function in Excel is used to raise a number to a specified power (exponent). This is commonly used in mathematical and scientific calculations where exponentiation is required.

Syntax

=POWER(number, power)

• number: The base number that you want to raise to a power.
• power: The exponent (or power) to which the base number is raised.

Description

• The POWER function returns the result of raising a number to the power of a specified exponent.
• If the exponent is a positive integer, the result is the base number multiplied by itself that many times.
• If the exponent is negative, the result is the reciprocal of the base number raised to the positive exponent.

Example 1: Square of a Number

To calculate the square of a number, such as 4:

=POWER(4, 2)

Result:

The result is 16, since $4^2 = 16$.

Example 2: Cube of a Number

To calculate the cube of a number, such as 3:

=POWER(3, 3)

Result:

The result is 27, since $3^3 = 27$.

Example 3: Negative Exponent

To calculate a number with a negative exponent, such as $2^{-3}$:

=POWER(2, -3)

Result:

The result is 0.125, since $2^{-3} = \frac{1}{2^3} = \frac{1}{8} = 0.125$.

Example 4: Fractional Exponent

To calculate the square root of a number using fractional exponents, such as the square root of 16:

=POWER(16, 0.5)

Result:

The result is 4, since $16^{0.5} = \sqrt{16} = 4$.

Usage Notes

• The POWER function can handle both positive and negative exponents, including fractional exponents for calculating roots.
• POWER is equivalent to using the number^power formula directly in Excel. However, using POWER allows for more readable and structured formulas.