5th Grade · Number & Operations in Base Ten
Powers of Ten
5.NBT.A.2
Definition
A power of ten is 10 multiplied by itself; the exponent tells how many zeros follow the 1.
Examples
- 10 cubed = 10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000.
- 10 squared = 100, which has 2 zeros.
Key rule
The exponent on 10 equals the number of zeros in the result.
Memory hook
The exponent counts the zeros.