Powers and Index Notation

A power is a short way to write repeated multiplication: \(6^4\) means \(6 \times 6 \times 6 \times 6\). In NSW Year 7 maths (NESA outcome MA4‑IND‑C‑01) you learn the words base and index and work with powers of whole numbers.

You will write products in index form and evaluate powers, list powers of 2 and 10, write numbers in expanded form with powers of 10, follow the order of operations when powers appear, find a missing base or index, and see why \((-3)^2\) is positive but \((-3)^3\) is negative. Bacteria doubling every 20 minutes shows how fast powers grow. It is part of Year 7 Whole Numbers.