Answer: An exponent is the number of which a certain number or variable (x, y z, etc) is multiplied by itself. for example, if you multiply 2 x 2, it could be stated as 2^2. or if you multiply 4 x 4 x 4, it could be stated as 4^3. but it doesn't work unless the numbers are the same. if you have 3 x 3 x 4, it isn't 3^3, it's 3^2 x 4.