Question 140657: Definition: If y is a non-zero real number, then y to the 0 power = ________
Answer by nabla(475)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! By definition, all real numbers raised to the zero power equals 1. It makes most sense, when trying to see why, by graphing an exponential function. See the following graph of 
Notice that as x approaches 0, y approaches 1. This is because of the basic fact that if x is a negative number, we take 1/2^x, which is always less than 1 (given x>0). Similarly, if x is positive, 2^x is greater than 1. Perhaps it becomes intuitive at this point that approaching x=0 from either side (positive or negative), we are arriving at a y-value of 1.
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