An exponent is a mathematical notation that represents how many times a base is multiplied by itself. Other terms used to define exponents are ‘power’ or ‘index’. An exponential term is a term that can be expressed as a base raised to an exponent. For example, in an exponential expression,  is the base and ‘ is the exponent.
The exponent can be a number or a constant; they can also be a variable. They are generally positive real numbers, but they can also be negative numbers.
Laws of exponents: If a and b are any real numbers then

Where m and n are rational numbers.