exponent
In mathematics, long, multi- digit numbers are represented in exponential notation. This simplifies the representation and the calculation considerably.
Such an exponential number representation consists of the mantissa, which is the digit that indicates the valence, the base and the exponent.
The exponent (exp) is the superscript by which the base is exponentiated. It is positive for values greater than 1, and negative for values less than 1. For example, the number 1 000 000 in exponential notation with base 10 becomes `10^6`, or the number 0.000 004 567 becomes `4.567^-6`. In these examples, the exponent is +6 and -6.