Word Problems with Powers and Exponents
Instructions: Read each problem carefully. Show your working and write your answer in the space provided. Remember: exponents show how many times a number is multiplied by itself.
1. A bacteria colony doubles every hour. If there are 2 bacteria at the start, how many bacteria will there be after 6 hours? Write your answer as a power, then calculate the total.
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ bacteria
2. A chess board has 8 rows and 8 columns. Write the total number of squares as a power, then calculate how many squares are on the board.
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ squares
3. A tree has 5 main branches. Each main branch splits into 5 smaller branches. Each smaller branch splits into 5 twigs. How many twigs are there in total? Express as a power first.
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ twigs
4. A square playground has sides that are 10 metres long. What is the area of the playground? Write as a power and calculate.
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ m²
5. A stack of paper is made by folding a sheet in half 4 times. Each fold doubles the number of layers. How many layers of paper are there after 4 folds? (Hint: Start with 2¹ for the first fold)
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ layers
6. A cube has edges that are 3 cm long. What is the volume of the cube? (Volume = length × width × height)
Power form: _______________
Working: _____________________________________________
Answer: _______________ cm³
🌟 Challenge Problem:
If 10⁴ people attended a concert, how many people is that?
Answer: _______________ people