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Exponent Rules Explained!
(Free Chart)
August 9, 2024
Everything you need to know about the exponent rules!
Exponent Rules
Explained
In algebra, exponent rules (also known as the
laws of exponents), are a set of laws that you can
use to simplify mathematical expressions that
have exponents. In other words, exponent rules
can be used to make complicated math
expressions containing exponents much easier to
work with.
Once you learn the rules of exponents, you will be
able to use them to quickly and easily perform
operations (adding, subtracting, multiplying,
dividing, etc.) on expressions that have
exponents.
The following free guide to Exponent Rules will
describe and explain the rules of exponents are,
what they look like, and examples of how you can
use them to simplify expressions and solve math
problems involving exponents.
You can use the quick links below to jump to any
section of this guide, or you can follow along
step-by-step.
• Quick Review: Exponents
• What are the Exponent Rules (Chart)
• Exponent Rules: Zero Exponent Rule
• Exponent Rules: Product Rule
• Exponent Rules: Quotient Rule
• Exponent Rules: Power of a Power Rule
• Exponent Rules: Power of a Product Rule
• Exponent Rules: Negative Exponent Rule
By the time that you reach the conclusion of this
free guide on the rules of exponents, you will
have a deep understanding of how to apply the
exponent rules to simplify and solve math
problems.
Are you ready to get started?
Before we start learning about the exponent
rules, let’s do a quick review of exponents and
cover some key vocabulary terms that you will
need to be familiar with in order to make the
most out of this guide.
Figure 01: The number 5 raised to a power of
3.
Quick Review: Exponents
In math, an exponent is a number or a variable at
the top right of a base number or expression. The
value of the exponent tells you what power the
base number will be raised to.
For example, the expression 5³ has a base
number of 5 and an exponent of 3. This
expression means that the base number, 5, is
being raised to a power of 3, meaning:
• 5³ = 5 x 5 x 5 = 125
In short, an exponent tells you how many times
to multiply the base number by itself.
Now that you understand the basic definition of
an exponent, it’s time to move onto learning
about the Exponent Rules.
What are the
Exponent Rules?
The rules of exponents are a collection of specific
ways to simplify math expressions involving
exponents.
The chart in Figure 02 below shows all of the
exponent rules. You can click the link below the
chart to download a PDF copy which you can
print out and use as a reference whenever you
need to.
Below the chart, you will find a section that
explains each individual exponent rule along with
examples.
Figure 02: The Exponent Rules
Click here to download your free Exponents Rules
(Laws of Exponents) PDF chart.
Exponent Rules: Zero
Exponent Rule
The first exponent rule described in this guide
will be the zero exponent rule:
• a⁰=1
Figure 03: The zero exponent
rule.
The zero exponent rule states that any number,
variable, or expression raised to the zero power is
equal to 1.
For example:
• 8⁰=1
• x⁰=1
• (a+b)⁰=1
Pretty simple, right?
To understand the zero exponent rule, you only
have to remember that anything raised to the
zero power is equal to one.
Exponent Rules: Product
Rule
The next exponent rule that we will cover is called
the product rule:
• a^b x a^c = a^(b+c)
Figure 04: The product exponent rule.
The product rule of exponents applies whenever
you have to multiply two or more expressions
that have the same base.
The rule goes as follows: whenever you have to
multiply two expressions with the same base
value, you can simplify the expression by adding
the exponents together and keeping the base
value the same.
For example:
• 4³ x 4² = 4⁵
• m² x m² = m⁴
• (a+b)⁵ x (a+b)³ = (a+b)⁸
Are you wondering where the product exponent
rule comes from, let’s take a closer look at the
example:
• 4³ x 4² = 4⁵
We can rewrite each individual expression as
follows:
• 4³ = 4 x 4 x 4
• 4² = 4 x 4
Therefore,
• 4³ x 4² = 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 x 4 = 4⁵
The product rule allows you to simplify the
expression 4³ x 4² as 4⁵. They both mean the
same thing!
Before we move onto the next rule of exponents,
note that the product rule only applies when
the expressions have the same base value!
Exponent Rules: Quotient
Rule
Our next stop on our chart of the rules of
exponents is called the quotient rule.
The exponent rule comes into play when you
have to divide two expressions with exponents
that have the same base value.
The quotient rule of exponents goes as follows:
• a^b ➗ a^c = a^(b-c); or
• (a^b)/(a^c) = a^(b-c)
Figure 05(a): The quotient exponent rule
with a division symbol.
Figure 05(b): The quotient exponent rule
with a fraction.
Whether two expressions with the same base are
being divided using a division sign (as shown in
Figure 05(a)) or with a fraction (as shown in
Figure 05(b)), you can simplify the expression by
subtracting the second exponent from the first
exponent and keeping the base value the same.
For example:
• 8⁸ ➗ 8² = 8⁶
• 8⁵ / 8² = 8³
• n¹⁰ / n⁸ = n²
• (a+b)⁹ ➗ (a+b)² = (a+b)⁷
Remember that the quotient exponent rule only
applies if both expressions have the same base
value.
Exponent Rules: Power
of a Power Rule
What happens when you take an expression with
an exponent and raise it to another power?
In case like this, you can use the power of a
power exponent rule, which states that,
whenever you have a base number, variable, or
expression with an exponent raised to another
exponent, the expression can be simplified by
multiplying the two exponents together and
keeping the base value the same.
• (a^b)^c = a^(bc)
Figure 06: The power of a power exponent
rule.
Whenever you have a single base with two
exponents in a row, you can simplify the
expression by multiplying the two exponents
together, for example:
• (9³)⁴ = 9¹²
• (y²)² = y⁴
• (x⁷)³ = x²¹
The power of a power exponent rule is a useful
law of exponents that you can use to simplify
complicated expressions involving multiple
exponents.
Exponent Rules: Power of
a Product Rule
What happens when you take an entire product
and raise the entire thing to a power?
In cases like this, whenever you are raising a
product of two numbers inside of a set of
parentheses by an exponent, you can distribute
the exponent and apply it to each term of the
product as follows:
• (ab)^c = a^b x a^c
Figure 07: The power of a product exponent
rule.
In cases when your base is a product raised to an
exponent, you can distribute the exponent to
each term, for example:
• (ab)³ = a³b³
• (xy²)³ = x³y⁶
• (m²n³)⁴ = m⁸n¹²
The power of a product exponent rule is one of
the most important and use exponent rules on
our list! Make sure that you feel comfortable with
how to use it before moving onto the next law of
exponents.
Exponent Rules: Negative
Exponent Rule
The final exponent rule that we will cover in this
guide is the negative exponent rule, which
states that:
• a^-b = 1/(a^b)
Figure 08: The negative exponent rule.
The negative exponent rule states that any
number, variable, or expression raised to a
negative power can be rewritten as a fraction
with one in the numerator and the same original
expression in the denominator, but with the
negative sign removed from the exponent.
For example:
• 8^-2 = 1/(8^2)
• x^-7 = 1/(x^7)
• (a+b)^-4 = 1/((a+b)^4)
That’s all that there is to it! If you ever have to
solve a problem that requires you to give an
answer that includes only positive exponents, the
negative exponent rule will come in handy.
Conclusion: Exponent Rules
In math, you will need to be able to work with
expressions that have exponents, and being able
to simplify them quickly and correctly is an
important skill. By learning and understanding
the rules of exponents, you can easily simplify
exponents in a variety of situations. Whenever
you need to review the exponent rules, we
encourage you to revisit this guide for a quick
refresher.
Need More Help?
Check out our animated video lessons on the
power to a power rule and the product to a
power rule.
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