POWER Function in Excel - Excel Formulas and Functions

What is POWER function in Excel?

The POWER function is a mathematical function that allows you to raise a number to a certain power. It takes two arguments: the base number and the exponent, and returns the result of raising the base number to the power of the exponent.

POWER Function Description

The POWER function in Microsoft Excel calculates exponential growth. It allows users to calculate the power of a given number raised to a given exponent.

The Power formula is especially useful when dealing with large numbers. For example, if you wanted to calculate 2 raised to the 1000th power, it would be very difficult to do this manually. However, using the Power formula makes this calculation easy.

All you need to do is enter POWER(2,1000) into an Excel cell and you’ll get the result of 2 raised to the 1000th power, which is 1.0715e+301.

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Syntax

=POWER(base_num, exponent_num)

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Prompt for AI to generate POWER function screenshot from portal

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Response from AI with POWER function for spreadsheet, screenshot from portal

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How to use POWER function in your workbook:

Power Function MS Excel - Excel Formula Cheat Sheet

Open Microsoft Excel.
Select the cell you would like to use the power formula.
Type “=POWER(” and then select the cell containing the value you wish to use in the formula.
Enter a comma after the cell selection, then enter the power you wish to apply to the value.
Finally, close the formula with a closing parenthesis and press “Enter” to calculate the result.
The result will appear in the cell.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can the POWER formula be used with other functions in Excel?

POWER formula can be nested within other functions such as SUM or AVERAGE to raise a set of numbers to a certain power and then sum or average them. Additionally, the POWER function can be combined with other mathematical functions such as LOG, SQRT, or ABS to create more sophisticated formulas.

Can the POWER formula handle negative bases or exponents?

Yes, the POWER function can handle negative bases or exponents. When the base is negative and the exponent is an even number, the result will be positive. When the base is negative and the exponent is an odd number, the result will be negative. When the exponent is negative, the result will be the reciprocal of the base raised to the absolute value of the exponent.