Right. The letter n stands for the exponent, and this tells us how far to go in multiplying our base by itself.
It is necessary to know how the letters b and n are sometimes tossed around in discussing powers.
If, for example, b = 3, then bn means that 3 is raised to the nth power, or 3 is used as a factor n times.
If n = 4, then bn means that b is raised to the 4th power, or b is used as a factor 4 times.
Now we have defined the 2nd power of a base, b2, and the 3rd power, b3, and so on, but we have not defined the 1st power of a number, have we? Do you know what we mean by the 1st power of any number, b?
