Three ways to put a degree in Excel

When working with mathematical expressions, the need periodically arises to raise the number to some degree. This can be conditionally done in two ways: directly write a number that has already been raised to a power, or put the sign of a power next to it. In most text editors, this is made easier than simple, but in the Excel spreadsheet processor, this seemingly simple action can cause some difficulties for the user. The article will tell you how to put a degree in Excel in the above ways.

Method 1: erection through a symbol

There are an order of magnitude more ways to raise a power to a power in Excel than simply setting the appropriate character. Let's start with the simplest method, which implies the use of the special symbol “^”. The syntax of a peculiar formula is as follows:

= n ^ y

where, n is the number to be raised to a power; y is the degree to which a number must be raised.

As you can see, the formula is straightforward, and remember it is not difficult. But in order to consolidate knowledge, so to speak, let's take an example where we need to raise the number 3 to the fourth power.

1. Select the cell where you want to make calculations.
2. Put an equal sign ("=") so that the program understands that the formula fits.
3. Enter the number you want to raise to a power. In this case, 3.
4. Set the power symbol “^”. To do this, hold down the Shift key and press the 6 button on the top number row.
5. Enter the degree to which you want to raise the number, i.e. 4.
6. Press Enter.

Immediately after this, the result of this mathematical operation appears in the cell. Now you know how to put a degree in Excel so that the number is immediately raised in it.

Method 2: using the function

To achieve the result, you can resort to the help of a function, by the way, it is called appropriately - DEGREE. The way how to put a degree in Excel using a function does not differ in particular complexity:

1. Select the cell in which you want to write the expression.
2. Click on the “Insert Function” button.
3. In the appeared window of the “Function Wizard”, find the line “DEGREE” in the list, select it and press OK.
4. You will see a new window with two input fields. In the first you need to enter the number that you are going to raise to a power, and in the second directly the power itself. By the way, instead of a number, you can specify a cell with a numerical expression, then it will be raised to a power.
5. Click OK.

Now you know the second way how to put a degree in Excel, but what if you need not to raise a number, but simply indicate its degree in text format? In this case, proceed to the third method.

Method 3: writing a degree in a table cell

If you want to indicate the degree of a number directly in the cell, then you must use a superscript. In fact, making such a record is not extremely complicated, just the algorithm of action for this is not entirely clear to the average user, because before the recording itself it will be necessary to make some more preparation. But first things first. Let's look at everything with an example so that it is immediately clear how this works. We will analyze the same case when we need to raise the number 3 to the fourth power.

1. Select the cell in which you want to record.
2. Change its format to text. To do this, on the main tab, on the toolbar, click on the drop-down list located in the "Number" group. In the list that appears, select "Text".
3. Now everything is ready so that the entry in the cell is displayed correctly. So, enter the number 34 in it. Why exactly it? Yes, because 4 is the power of 3, which we will now modify.
4. In the cell, directly select the number 4 itself.
5. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 1.
6. The "Format Cells" window appears. In it you need to set a mark opposite the item “Superscript” in the “Modification” area.
7. Click OK.

Immediately after this, the expression will be written as you need. As you can see, recording the correct format is not so difficult as it might seem at first glance.

Conclusion

Now you know three ways to work with a degree in Excel. Two of them imply a direct raising to a given degree, which is very convenient in calculations. However, if you need to write a number directly with a degree in text format, then use the third method, which is quite simple to perform.