Index

An index (or power) tells how many times a base number is multiplied by itself, as in $2^{5}=2\times2\times2\times2\times2$. In $a^{n}$, $a$ is the base and $n$ is the index.

Indices can be positive, negative, zero, or fractional, and fractional indices represent roots.

You meet Index in the Indices, Surds and Logarithms chapter of SPM Additional Mathematics. Knowing the term precisely matters in the exam: questions often hinge on reading a keyword correctly, and because SPM marking is analytic, using the right definition in your working helps secure method marks.

Our teachers make sure a student can not only recite what Index means but use it fluently in a full solution.

Because the SPM Add Math paper is bilingual (BM/EN), it helps to know this term in each language: Index (EN) · Indeks (BM) · 指数 (中文)

Other key terms from the Indices, Surds and Logarithms chapter you may want to check:

• Laws of Indices
• Surd
• Rationalising the Denominator
• Logarithm
• Laws of Logarithms
• Change of Base Formula