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U2:  Careers that use Exponents

Jobs That Use Exponents

by Ron White, Demand Media

Electrical engineers use exponents to do their jobs.

For some careers, exponents, numbers that indicate how many times you must multiple another number by itself, serve an important purpose. Their jobs require them to use exponents for real-world applications, such as calculating area or volume, determining growth or decay, and figuring out the impact of force. Whether you fear exponential math or seek to apply it in the workforce, knowing which jobs require you to master it may help in making career decisions.

Finance Jobs

Exponents play a key role in the finance industry. Bankers, investors and accountants use exponents to calculate interest earned on investments, interest due on loans and depreciation of assets. These professionals plug numbers into equations, which have variables for principal, the interest rate applied, the frequency at which interest is compounded and the number of months or years remaining in the loan or investment account. The equations allow banks to figure monthly mortgage and auto loan payments, and give investors information about how much they are earning on savings accounts, pension plans and stock portfolios.

Scientists

Chemists, biologists, physicists and other scientists use exponents to make calculations. They can measure the half-life of isotopes like uranium by plugging numbers into equations featuring exponents. The half-life determines the time needed for the isotope to decay by half. Scientists also can measure growth of bacteria, which doubles in size over time if allowed to grow. Exponents also figure into a formula used by geoscientists to determine the intensity of earthquakes. The formula allows them to calculate magnitude on the Richter scale. Volume and area calculations also require the use of exponents.

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Builders

To work in construction, you must know how to use exponents to calculate area and volume. Builders calculate area in square feet, which allows them to measure floors, lawns, foundations, sidewalks, driveways, roads and roofs for width and length. Builders also use exponents to calculate volume, which measures width, length and depth. By using exponents, carpenters, bricklayers, concrete workers and other builders can design projects, estimate how much material they will need and prepare the material as needed.

Engineering

All types of engineers and architects use exponents daily to help them design and build machinery, structures and equipment. They use exponents to calculate tensile strength, which determines the amount of stress that a structure can withstand. Sound engineers use exponents to calculate sound waves. Exponents also allow aeronautical engineers to predict how jets and rockets will perform during flight. They use formulas that predict wave behavior to calculate potential and kinetic energy and to measure pressure, heat and airflow.