MathematicsClass 8Power Play

Power Play | Class 8 Mathematics Notes

By ConceptScroll Team · Published on 17 July 2026 · 4 min read

Power Play – this guide gives you a concise, exam-ready overview of Power Play from Class 8 Mathematics, written by ConceptScroll editors and reviewed against the latest NCERT textbook.

Negative Exponents and Zero Exponent

This section introduces the concepts of zero and negative exponents, which extend the laws of exponents to cases where the exponent is zero or negative. It explains that any non-zero number raised to the power zero is equal to one. This is justified by the quotient law of exponents: a^m ÷ a^m = a^(m−m) = a^0 = 1, where a ≠ 0.

Negative exponents represent the reciprocal of the positive exponent. For example, a^(−n) = 1/(a^n), where a ≠ 0. This means that a negative exponent indicates division rather than multiplication. The section provides examples and explains how to simplify expressions involving negative and zero exponents.

The section also cautions that zero raised to the zero power (0^0) is undefined and should be avoided. It emphasizes understanding these rules to handle algebraic expressions and scientific notation correctly.

📊 Diagram: The diagram shows a number raised to zero power equals one, and another illustrates a negative exponent as the reciprocal of the positive power.

🧪 Activity: Activity: Students calculate powers with zero and negative exponents and verify the results using the laws of exponents.

🔗 Connection: This section leads to understanding powers with fractional exponents and their applications.

Frequently asked questions

1. Find out the units digit in the value of 2224 ÷ 432? [Hint: 4 = 22]

To find the units digit of 2224 ÷ 432, first note that 4 = 22. This implies 4 is 2 squared. The question likely means to find the units digit of 2 raised to the power 224 divided by 4 raised to the power 32, or possibly 2^224 divided by 4^32. Since 4 = 2^2, 4^32 = (2^2)^32 = 2^(64). So the expression is 2^224 ÷ 2^64 = 2^(224-64) = 2^160. The units digit of powers of 2 cycle every 4 powers: 2^1=2, 2^2=4, 2^3=8, 2^4=6, then repeats. 160 mod 4 = 0, so units digit is 6.

2. There are 5 bottles in a container. Every day, a new container is brought in. How many bottles would be there after 40 days?

Each container has 5 bottles. Every day, one new container is added. After 40 days, number of containers = 40. Total bottles = 40 × 5 = 200 bottles.

3. Write the given number as the product of two or more powers in three different ways. The powers can be any integers. (i) 643 (ii) 1928 (iii) 32–5

For each number, express as product of powers in three different ways:

(i) 643

  • 64 = 8^2 = 4^3 = 2^6
  • So possible products:

1) 8^2 2) 4^3 3) 2^6

(ii) 1928

  • 1928 = 19 × 28
  • 19 is prime, 28 = 2^2 × 7
  • Possible products:

1) 19 × 28 2) (19 × 2)^2 × 7^{-1} (not integer power, so avoid) 3) 19^1 × (2^2 × 7)^1

(iii) 32^{-5}

  • 32 = 2^5
  • So 32^{-5} = (2^5)^{-5} = 2^{-25}
  • Possible products:

1) 2^{-25} 2) (2^{-5})^{5} 3) (2^{-1})^{25}

4. Examine each statement below and find out if it is ‘Always True’, ‘Only Sometimes True’, or ‘Never True’. Explain your reasoning. (i) Cube numbers are also square numbers. (ii) Fourth powers are also square numbers. (iii) The fifth power of a number is divisible by the cube of that number. (iv) The product of two cube numbers is a cube number. (v) q46 is both a 4th power and a 6th power (q is a prime number).

(i) Cube numbers are also square numbers.

  • Only sometimes true. For example, 64 = 4^3 = 8^2 is both cube and square, but 8 = 2^3 is not a square.

(ii) Fourth powers are also square numbers.

  • Always true. Because (n^2)^2 = n^4, so fourth powers are squares of squares.

(iii) The fifth power of a number is divisible by the cube of that number.

  • Always true. Since n^5 = n^3 × n^2, n^5 is divisible by n^3.

(iv) The product of two cube numbers is a cube number.

  • Always true. Since a^3 × b^3 = (

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