Last Updated on November 1, 2023 by Jake Sheridan
Hey there, my besties! Today, we’re going to uncover the juicy secret of calculating exponents in Google Sheets. Google Sheets is a powerful tool for storing data and performing calculations. And guess what? It’s not just for simple addition and subtraction. You can also calculate exponents in Google Sheets. For example, if you want to find the value of 5 squared, or 5² as it’s commonly written in mathematical formulas, you can easily do it in Google Sheets using one of the two methods described below.
Calculating Exponents Using the Power Operator (^)
The easiest way to calculate exponents in Google Sheets is by using the power operator, also known as the caret (^). The caret symbol looks like an inverted V and it indicates that the number following it is an exponent. You can use it within simple formulas to quickly calculate exponents with minimal input.
Here’s how:
Step 1
Select the cell where you want to enter the exponent formula and type “=” to start inputting a formula.
Step 2
Enter the base number, which is the number you want to raise to the power. For example, if you want to calculate 5 squared, enter 5.
Step 3
Enter the caret symbol by holding down the Shift key and pressing the number 6 on your standard keyboard.
Step 4
Enter the exponent, which is the number to which you want to raise the base number, and press Enter to finish the formula.
Step 5
You can also reference cells instead of entering numbers. For example, the formula “=A4^A7” calculates the result of raising the number stored in cell A4 to the power stored in cell A7.
Calculating Exponents Using the POWER Function
The POWER() function can be used in any formula to calculate the value of a base number raised to a given exponent. It works similarly to the caret method described above but can be easier to read in more complex formulas where the base and/or exponent themselves are the result of calculations.
Here’s how to use the POWER function:
Step 1
Select the cell where you want to calculate the exponent and enter the following formula: “=POWER(C4, C7)”. The first cell reference is the base number, and the second cell reference is the exponent.
Step 2
Just like with the caret method, you can use either numbers or cell references as inputs for the POWER function. You can even use complex formulas that might be difficult to understand with the caret method. For example, “=POWER(min(C4, C7), C4+C7)”.
Summary
In this tutorial, we unveiled the secret to calculating exponents in Google Sheets. It’s a little secret I wanted to share with you, my besties! To discover more about the features of Google Sheets, feel free to visit the Crawlan.com website. You’ll find other interesting tutorials there!
Until next time, happy exploring!
