In this video, we're going to look at powers and exponentials on the TI 30x. As with everything in this calculator, it is somewhat awkward and clumsy, so I hope this tutorial will help you understand how it works. Let's start with finding 2 cubed. To do this, we need to use the white "X" button. We press "Y" to the power of "X," then 3 equals. We should get 8, as 2 times 2 times 2 is, of course, 8. So that's how you do powers other than 2 or 1 or minus 1. There are some built-in powers on this row. You have 1 over X, X squared, and square root of X. That's the power of minus 1 squared and the power of 1/2. For example, if you take the square root of 9, you get 3. Or you could do 3 squared and then 1 over 9. So you can use these buttons to do it somewhat quicker. Now let's move on to exponentials. To find the exponential of a number, you just type in the number and then the exponential function. The number always comes first when you're doing the powers. So let's find e to the power of 1. That is, of course, e. Press 1, then second function, e to the X, and that gives us 2.718. And you should know that that's e. So there you have it. That's how you do the basic powers. Just to recap, these are your quick functions: power minus 1 squared, square roots (power of 1/2). For any other power, you use "Y" to the "X," and you also have the exponential function, which is the second function on the Ln or natural logarithm button. Okay, so hopefully powers and exponentials make more sense to you...
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