Math Tutor Explains: What is 85 to the Power of 31?

A math tutor would explain that to solve for 85 to the power of 31, we must first understand the structure. The number 85 is called the base, and the number 31 is called the exponent. In short, the base must be multiplied by itself the number of times as the exponent. Let’s look at this problem in more detail.

Math Tutor's Solution: 85 to the Power of 31 is equal to 648614565557106465387241996310035327603109180927276611328125

Methods

Step-by-step from math tutor: finding 85 to the power of 31

The first step a math tutor would suggest is to understand what it means when a number has an exponent. The “power” of a number indicates how many times the base would be multiplied by itself to reach the correct value.

The second step is to write the number in the base-exponent form, and lastly calculate what the final result would be. Consider the example of 2 to the power of 4: in exponent form that would be

242^4
. To solve this, we need to multiply the base, 2 by itself, 4 times -
2⋅2⋅2⋅22\cdot2\cdot2\cdot2
= 16. So
24=162^4 = 16
.

So re-applying these steps to our particular problem, we first convert our word problem to a base-exponent form of:

853185^{31}

To simplify this, all that is needed is to multiply it out:

85 x 85 x 85 x 85 x ... (for a total of 31 times) = 648614565557106465387241996310035327603109180927276611328125

Therefore, 85 to the power of 31 is 648614565557106465387241996310035327603109180927276611328125.

Math Tutor Suggests: Try related exponent problems

Our math tutors suggest reviewing other exponent problems that you can practice with!

Download FREE Math Resources

Take advantage of our free downloadable resources and study materials for at-home learning.

8 Math Hacks and Tricks to Turn Your ‘Okay’ Math Student Into a Math Champion!

One thing we teach our students at Thinkster is that there are multiple ways to solve a math problem. This helps our students learn to think flexibly and non-linearly.

Get PDF

How to Make Sure Your Child is Highly Successful and Becomes a Millionaire

As a parent, you hope your child is extremely successful and likely become the next Gates, Zuckerberg, or Meg Whitman. To set your child on the right path, there are many skills and traits that you can start building and nurturing now. Doing so plants the seeds for future success.

Get PDF

Math Tutoring to Boost Your Child’s Math Skills & Scores by 90% in Just 3 Months – Guaranteed!

Does your child struggle with math homework or understanding tricky math concepts? Do they do okay in math, but express excitement to learn new material or advanced math?

A Thinkster Math tutor provides one-to-one support to help elementary, middle school, and high school students build confidence and master math subjects like K-8 math, pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, calculus, and more.

Our expert math tutors customize math lessons to your child’s unique needs, making learning math fun and effective. We help students improve grades, develop strong critical thinking skills through solving word problems, excel in standardized tests, and develop strong problem-solving skills.

Our expert math tutors are ready to help make your child a champion and develop strong math mastery! Sign up for our 7-day free trial and get the best math tutor for your child today!

Start 7-Day Free Trial