Skip to main content
Common Core Math6th GradeExpressions & Equations

6.EE.1: Whole-Number Exponents

Also written as 6.EE.A.1 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.1 · Cluster: Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.

Make 6.EE.1 ProblemsAll 29 6th Grade Math Standards

The Official Wording

Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 6, Expressions & Equations · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What 6.EE.1 Means in Plain English

Sixth graders read 5³ as 5 × 5 × 5, not 5 × 3, and get 125. They write a repeated product like 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 as 2⁴, and in 3² + 4² they do the exponents first: 9 + 16 = 25.

Exponents are new here. Fifth graders only used them for powers of 10 (5.NBT.2). In 6th grade they sit inside the order of operations (6.EE.2c) and in the volume formula V = s³ (6.G.2). In 8th grade the rules for multiplying and dividing powers arrive (8.EE.1).

6.EE.1 I Can Statements

  • I can read 5³ as 5 × 5 × 5 and find 125.
  • I can write a repeated product like 2 × 2 × 2 as 2³.
  • I can evaluate an expression with exponents in the right order.

6.EE.1 Worked Example

One expression, two exponents, and the whole thing hinges on doing the powers before the plus and the times.

Problem

Evaluate 2³ + 4 × 3².

Evaluating 2³ + 4 × 3²
  1. Exponents come first. 2³ means 2 × 2 × 2, three factors of 2, not 2 × 3.2³ = 2 × 2 × 2 = 8
  2. The other exponent: 3² means 3 × 3.3² = 3 × 3 = 9
  3. Rewrite the expression with the powers worked out. Now it is only multiplication and addition.8 + 4 × 9
  4. Multiply before adding.8 + 36
  5. Add.44
Answer2³ + 4 × 3² = 44

Check it: Work the second term on its own: 4 × 3² is 4 × 9 = 36, and 36 + 8 = 44. The common wrong answer, 6 + 4 × 6 = 30, comes from reading the exponents as multiplication.

Common Mistakes with 6.EE.1

Multiplying the base by the exponent

5³ = 15

Try this: Expand every power as a product before computing, 5³ = 5 × 5 × 5 = 125, and say “three factors of five” aloud.

Adding before the exponent

2 + 3² = 5² = 25

Try this: Circle the power first and work it out on its own line: 3² = 9, then 2 + 9 = 11. Exponents outrank addition.

Squaring the coefficient too

4 × 3² = 12² = 144

Try this: Ask what the exponent is attached to. Only the 3 is squared, so 4 × 3² = 4 × 9 = 36.

Where 6.EE.1 Fits

Comes Before5.NBT.2Use whole-number exponents to show powers of 10, like 10³ = 1,000.5.OA.1Evaluate expressions with parentheses, brackets and braces.
Alongside6.EE.2Evaluate expressions with letters, exponents included, in the conventional order.6.G.2Find the volume of a right rectangular prism, where a cube gives V = s³.
Comes Next8.EE.1Apply the properties of integer exponents, like 3² × 3⁵ = 3⁷.

Practice 6.EE.1

Math Worksheet GeneratorFree ToolA mixed page where exponents sit among the other operations, so students have to decide what comes first.ExponentsMixed operationsAnswer key
Make a Worksheet

Quick Check

  1. Evaluate 3⁴.
  2. Write 7 × 7 × 7 with an exponent, then evaluate it.
  3. Evaluate 5² + 2³ × 4.

6.EE.1: Other Names

6.EE.16.EE.A.1CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.6.EE.A.1

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.