Let’s take a look. Like previous examples, we have a simple worksheet that highlights several cell references. Following the instructions in the table, let’s create the formulas we need to use exponents. The first formula doesn’t use any cell references. For 3 squared, we input = 3 ^ 2 which gives us 9. Excel doesn’t care about white space in formulas, so feel free to add space for better readability. The second example is C9 cubed. For that, we enter = C9 ^ 3 which gives us 27. Next, we have F7 to the power of D6 which translates to F7 ^ D6. Because D6 is negative one, we get the inverse of F7, or one fourth. In the last example, we need to raise H8 to the power of H11. This is H8 ^ H11. When using exponents, you may see a VALUE error if any of the cells contain text. Blank values can cause a “divide by zero” error when the exponent is negative.
Dave Bruns
Hi - I’m Dave Bruns, and I run Exceljet with my wife, Lisa. Our goal is to help you work faster in Excel. We create short videos, and clear examples of formulas, functions, pivot tables, conditional formatting, and charts.
