what does the symbol ^ mean in mathematics?

"to the power"
Examples
2^4 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 2
3^5 = 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3

It means to the power of. For example 2^2=2 times 2

but you have to handle powers with care, since with great power comes great responsibility.

For example: 2^0 does not equal zero. It equals one.

The symbol ^ means 'to the power of something'.

e.g.
2^4
= 2 to the power of 4
= 16

it symbolizes exponent. example 10^2 is like 10 raise to 2. therefore: 10^2=100

it signifies an exponent, because when typing on a computer, it isn't alway possible (like in yahoo answers) to use superscript (small typing above the normal typing) like you would freehand

eg. 2^3 is 2 cubed ( 2*2*2)

It is used when typing on the computer to say "to the power of." For example to say 2 to the third power on the computer, you would write 2^3.

power of

ex: 10 to the power of 8

To the power of
eq. '...^2' means ...'to the power of two' (or 'squared')
'...^3' means ...'to the power of three' (or 'cubed')
etc.

to the power of 'x' (whatever number follows)

e.g. 10 ^ 3 means 10 cubed = 1000

As being written before it refers to the exponent and is used mainly in computer programming. As you may already know it is difficult to achive a superscript or subscript character when typing in answers or questions to Yahoo Answers as the text is written in the ASCII code. The extended version of ASCII (EASCII) only allows for superscripts 1(¹ EASCII 251), 2 (² EASCII 253) and 3 (³ EASCII 252) thus people use the carat (^) symbol instead, even in the case of something like 10².
If you wish to type in the the superscripts for 1,2,3 then with Num Lock on hold down the Alt key and type the EASCII number into the numeric keypad.