Exponent notation (or exponential notation) is a way of writing the value of a number as a multiple of another number raised to a certain power. With exponential notation, a number can be written as an expression such as a x 10^y, where ‘a’ is the base and ‘y’ is the exponent. The value of the expression is a*10^y, with the base being multiplied by 10 raised to the power of the exponent. For example, 8 x 10^3 would equal 8000, as 8 is the base and 3 is the exponent (8 * 10^3 = 8000). In general terms, exponential notation provides a useful shorthand for quickly representing the magnitude of a number.