Question 78476
Since in ordinary keyboarding you can't make an exponent, it is common practice to use 
the ^ symbol to indicate that what follows it is an exponent.  Examples:
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x^2 is the same as {{{x^2}}}
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5^(2x-3) is the same as {{{5^(2x-3)}}}
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y^-2 means {{{y^-2}}}
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You have to be careful with using this method.  It's always a good idea to use parentheses
to make sure that you are specifying the exponent correctly. For example, if you write:
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4^x-3
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then by the rules of algebra it means {{{4^x - 3}}} but you might have wanted it to mean:
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{{{4^(x-3)}}}. In this latter case you should have written it as 4^(x-3).
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In a string of terms you might say:
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x^4 + 2x^3 - 4x^2 + 2x - 3
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this should be interpreted as:
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{{{x^4 + 2x^3 - 4x^2 + 2x - 3}}}
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And as a final case x^y^2 is {{{x^y^2}}}
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Hope this helps you to understand the use of the ^ symbol