What are Exponent and Superscript Symbols?

A superscript is a character (such as a number or letter) that is set slightly above the normal line of type. While used for various purposes like footnotes and trademarks (™), their most common use is in mathematics to represent exponents.

An exponent, also known as a power or index, indicates how many times a base number should be multiplied by itself. For example, in 5², the base is 5 and the exponent is 2. This means you multiply 5 by itself two times: 5 × 5 = 25.

Superscript vs. Subscript

While superscripts appear above the line, subscripts appear below it. They serve different purposes:

  • Superscript Example: E = mc² (Used for exponents/powers).
  • Subscript Example: H₂O (Used for chemical formulas, variable indexing like x₁, x₂).

How to Type Exponent Symbols on a Keyboard

Besides copying and pasting, you can type these symbols directly on many devices.

Windows

Use Alt codes. Hold the Alt key and type the number on your numeric keypad. For example:
• Alt + 0178 for ²
• Alt + 0179 for ³
• Alt + 0185 for ¹

Mac

Open the Character Viewer by pressing Control + Command + Space. Search for "superscript" or "subscript" to find and insert the symbol you need.

Word / Google Docs

Type the number, select it, and press Ctrl + Shift + + for superscript, or Ctrl + = for subscript. This formats the text rather than inserting a Unicode character.

Common Uses & Examples

Mathematics

a² + b² = c²

The Pythagorean theorem uses superscripts to denote squaring.

Physics

E = mc²

Einstein's famous mass-energy equivalence formula.

Chemistry

H₂O

Subscripts are essential for writing chemical formulas like water.

Citations

See reference¹

Superscripts are used to mark footnotes and citations in academic texts.

Table of Superscript & Subscript Codes

Symbol Name HTML Code Unicode
¹Superscript One¹U+00B9
²Superscript Two²U+00B2
³Superscript Three³U+00B3
⁴Superscript Four⁴U+2074
ⁿSuperscript NⁿU+207F
₁Subscript One₁U+2081
₂Subscript Two₂U+2082
₃Subscript Three₃U+2083