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Math function
POWER
Raises a number to a power; the same as the ^ operator.
CommonDifficulty 950 · CapableUsage rank #144 of 520
When to use it
Raises a number to a power. The ^ operator does the same thing; POWER reads more clearly inside long formulas and makes fractional roots explicit.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=POWER(number, power)
Worked examples
Integer power
=POWER(2,10) → 1024
Two to the tenth.
Compound growth factor
=POWER(1.05,10) → 1.628894627
Ten years of 5% growth. The same as 1.05^10.
Cube root
=POWER(27,1/3) → 3
A fractional exponent is a root: the cube root of 27.
Worth knowing
- Compound annual growth: =POWER(end/start,1/years)-1.
- Use parentheses with the operator form: -2^2 is -4 in Excel because negation binds tighter, while POWER(-2,2) is 4.
- For square roots SQRT is clearer than POWER(x,0.5).
Where it goes wrong
- A negative base with a fractional exponent returns #NUM!.
- Overflow (results above about 1E+308) returns #NUM!.
Related
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