What Is an Exponent in Standard Form?

Exponents also come in an expanded form. When the exponent form is five to the sixth power and the standard form is 15,625, the expanded form is 5x5x5x5x5x5. An exponent tells those performing math calculations how many times the base is a factor, or how many times to multiply the base by itself. In the example of five to the sixth power, the five is the base number. The sixth power, or six, is the exponent.