5/22/2020 How to Use the POWER Function of Microsoft Excel

Section: Excel Functions Tutorial: POWER Function

How to Use the POWER Function of Excel

In this tutorial, we describe the POWER function of Excel and show how it can be used in conjunction with mathematical
expressions and other Excel functions.

Do you just want to add the power operator (the caret) in a spreadsheet formula? If so, go straight to the section on the power
operator. OK. Let's begin.

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The POWER Function

The syntax of the POWER function is:

POWER(base,power)
Where:

► base is any real number, and

► power (or exponent) is the number to which the base number is "raised" — or multiplied by itself.

A KeynoteSupport.com Tutorial

Review of Power (Exponent) and Base

The power (or exponent) of a number says how many times to multiply that number by itself. The number that the power operates
upon is called the base. So the base number 2, raised to the power of 3, is written 2³ and equals 2 x 2 x 2 = 8.

Examples of the POWER Function

In the Excel worksheet below, the actual functions were entered into Column A, we show the functions in Column B, and the data
reside in column C.

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Example 1: =POWER(C2,C3) - In this simple example, we raise 2 (cell C2) to the 3rd power (cell C3): 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 .

As an alternative for simpler formulas, we can use the caret ^ symbol to specify power. See the last section of this tutorial.

Example 2: =POWER(C5,C6) - This example shows that the base and power may contain decimals. Excel raises the base number
2.114 (C5) to the power of 3.2 (C6) and displays 10.97.

The actual value Excel stores is 10.9732669744184, but the cell was formatted to display only two decimal places.

Formulas and Embedded Functions

Use the image below for the next two sample functions. These samples show that the parameters of the POWER function can contain
mathematical formulas and other Excel functions.

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Example 3: =POWER(C2,C4/C3) - This Excel function contains a formula for the power. Excel raises the number 2 to the power of
3 (9 ÷ 3) and returns a value of 8.

Example 4: =POWER(MIN(C2:C6),C2*C3) - This example shows that other Excel functions can be included in the POWER function.
The base contains the MIN function, so Excel rst determines the smallest number among cells C2 through C6 - which is 2.

The power or exponent argument of the POWER function contains a formula of C2*C3 , or 2 x 3 = 6 . Therefore, Excel raises 2
to the power of 6: (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 64).

Excel's CARET Operator for Power

Microsoft Excel has an operator for power (exponent) that can be used in mathematical formulas. Excel's symbol for power is the
caret ^ . The caret can be used in simpler expressions and formulas.

In the worksheet example below, we show how to calculate the same power of a number using both methods discussed in this
tutorial: the caret, and the POWER function.

Column A contains the data, cells B1 and B2 contain the formulas, and we show the formulas in Column C.

In cell B1, we have the formula =A1^A2 . Here we ask Excel to raise base number 4 (A1) to the power of 2 (A2). And since 4² = 16 ,
Excel returns a value of 16.

Then, in cell B2, we've entered the function =POWER(A1,A2) . This POWER function asks Excel to do the same thing, and Excel
returns a value of 16.
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We hope you've enjoyed our tutorial on how to use the POWER function of Excel. Cheers!

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