Well, let’s break it down.

It is a common practice to use a letter such as x or n when we want to talk about a rule that holds for any number. If you have x number of pounds, and your friend has (x plus 10) number of pounds, your friend is £10 richer than you, no matter what x stands for.

Now we have stated that we shall let b stand for base in discussing powers of numbers, and n stands for the exponent. Therefore b is used as a factor n times in the expression bⁿ.

Try substituting actual numbers. Let b = 4, and n = 3. When bⁿ = 4³, then 4 is used as a factor 3 times.

Now go back to Page 28 and answer the question.