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Year 8 · Practice

Indices, Powers & Roots — Year 8 Practice Questions

Work through these Year 8 practice questions on indices, powers and roots. Try each one before revealing the worked solution.

Questions

1
[2 marks] Easy Index notation

Write 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 using index notation, then evaluate it.

2
[1 marks] Easy Squares

Work out 7².

3
[1 marks] Easy Cube roots

Find ∛64.

4
[2 marks] Medium Estimating roots

Between which two whole numbers does √50 lie?

5
[2 marks] Medium Laws of indices

Simplify 3⁴ × 3². Leave your answer in index form.

6
[2 marks] Medium Laws of indices

Simplify 5⁷ ÷ 5³. Leave your answer in index form.

7
[2 marks] Medium Power of zero

Work out the value of 9⁰ + 2³.

8
[2 marks] Medium Context

A square has an area of 81 cm². Find the length of one side.

Answers & Worked Solutions

Question 1 Solution

Step 1: There are five 2s multiplied together, so it is 2⁵.

Step 2: 2⁵ = 32.

Answer: 2⁵ = 32

Question 2 Solution

Step 1: 7² means 7 × 7.

Step 2: 7 × 7 = 49.

Answer: 49

Question 3 Solution

Step 1: You need the number that cubes to 64.

Step 2: 4³ = 64, so ∛64 = 4.

Answer: 4

Question 4 Solution

Step 1: 7² = 49 and 8² = 64.

Step 2: 50 is between 49 and 64, so √50 is between 7 and 8.

Answer: 7 and 8

Question 5 Solution

Step 1: Multiplying powers of the same base means adding the indices.

Step 2: 4 + 2 = 6, so the answer is 3⁶.

Answer: 3⁶

Question 6 Solution

Step 1: Dividing powers of the same base means subtracting the indices.

Step 2: 7 − 3 = 4, so the answer is 5⁴.

Answer: 5⁴

Question 7 Solution

Step 1: 9⁰ = 1 (any non-zero number to the power 0 is 1).

Step 2: 2³ = 8, so 1 + 8 = 9.

Answer: 9

Question 8 Solution

Step 1: The side length is the square root of the area.

Step 2: √81 = 9, so each side is 9 cm.

Answer: 9 cm

Build strong foundations in Indices, Powers & Roots

A free trial class with Teacher Rig helps your Year 8 child master Indices, Powers & Roots now — so IGCSE Maths feels familiar, not frightening, later.

Next step: IGCSE

Heading toward IGCSE? See how Indices, Powers & Roots develops in IGCSE Number (Cambridge 0580)