10 to the power of 6 equals 1,000,000. It is written $ 10^{6} $ and means multiplying 10 by itself 6 times. Below is the step-by-step calculation, the different ways to write it, and a quick calculator to try any other base and exponent.
What is 10 to the power of 6?
The expression 10 to the power of 6 is a shorthand for repeated multiplication. The base is 10 and the exponent 6 tells you how many times to use the base as a factor:
$$ 10^{6} = 10 \\times 10 \\times 10 \\times 10 \\times 10 \\times 10 = 1,000,000 $$Step-by-step calculation
Multiply one factor at a time:
- 101 = 10
- 102 = 100
- 103 = 1,000
- 104 = 10,000
- 105 = 100,000
- 106 = 1,000,000
So 10 to the power of 6 is 1,000,000.
10 to the power of 6 in different forms
| Form | Value |
|---|---|
| Standard form | 1,000,000 |
| Exponential form | 106 |
| Expanded form | 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 |
| Scientific notation | 1.000 × 106 |
Powers of 10
Seeing the pattern makes exponents easier to remember:
| Power | Expanded | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | 10 | 10 |
| 102 | 10 × 10 | 100 |
| 103 | 10 × 10 × 10 | 1,000 |
| 104 | 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 | 10,000 |
| 105 | 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 | 100,000 |
| 106 | 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 | 1,000,000 |
How to write and say 10 to the power of 6
In words it is “10 to the power of 6” (or the 6th power of 10). In math it is written with a small raised number called the exponent or index: $ 10^{6} $. The big number, 10, is the base. On most calculators you type it with the ^ or xⁿ key as 10^6, and in spreadsheets or code you write 10**6 or pow(10,6). All of these mean the same thing: multiply 10 by itself 6 times to get 1,000,000.
10 to the power of 6 vs 6 to the power of 10
Order matters with exponents. Swapping the base and exponent gives a completely different answer: while 10 to the power of 6 is 1,000,000, 6 to the power of 10 is 60,466,176. They are not the same, which is a common point of confusion — the base and the exponent play different roles.
Why powers of 10 matter
Powers of ten define our place-value system and scientific notation. $10^{6}=1,000,000$ means a 1 followed by 6 zeros, so it is the natural way to write very large numbers compactly and to compare orders of magnitude. Metric prefixes (kilo, mega, giga) are all powers of ten, which is why they are everywhere in science and data.
Frequently asked questions
What is 10 to the power of 6?
How do you calculate 10 to the power of 6?
What is 10 to the power of 6 in expanded form?
Is 10 to the power of 6 the same as 10 times 6?
Why do exponents grow so fast?
Related powers
Explore more worked exponents: 2 to the power of 8 2 to the power of 10 6 to the power of 2. Exponents are undone by the logarithm (the inverse operation), and you can read the formal exponentiation reference on Wikipedia. Or try any values in the calculator above.