You're killing me! 7x7x7x7x7=? Think about... You are multiplying 7 five times. When use use an exponent your are simply showing the amount of time 7 (or whatever your number is) has been multiplied by itself in a more compact form. For example: 5^8=5x5x5x5x5x5x5x5 Or 4x4x4=4^3