Math · Stage 6
Indices, powers and square roots
Read and write powers like 2³ and 5², work out squares and cubes, and find square roots of perfect squares — then see how a root undoes a square.
✦ Math📘 Stage 6 · S6⏱ ~14 min🧒 Ages 10–12★ Free to start
I can use indices, powers and square roots.
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Kavi Folds a Magic Paper 📄
Kavi folds a sheet of paper in half, again and again. "One fold makes 2 layers, two folds make 4, three folds make 8 — I keep doubling!" she hoots. "That is a power: 2³ = 2 × 2 × 2 = 8. A square works the same way — 7² = 49 tiles fill a 7-by-7 square — and a square root walks it backwards: √49 = 7 ⚡."
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What your child will learn
1A power is repeated multiplicationA power is a short way to write the same number multiplied by itself. The big number is the base; the small raised number is the index (also called the power or exponent). The index tells you how many times to multiply the base — not what to multiply it by. Tap a row to hear it.
2How square numbers growEach bar is a number times itself: 1×1, 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, 5×5, 6×6. These are the square numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36.
3A square root undoes squaringThe sign √ means “square root”. √n asks one question: which number, times itself, makes n? Because a root undoes a square, if you know your square numbers you already know your square roots. Tap a row to hear it.
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A peek inside
What is 2⁵?
2⁵ means five 2s multiplied: 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 → 4 → 8 → 16 → 32
Try this at home: Work out each power: 2⁴ = __ · 3² = __ · 10³ = __
Ready to play and learn?
Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.
Part of Math · Stage 6 · S6 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.