2 to the 3rd power, written as 23, means multiplying the base number 2 by itself three times. Therefore, you calculate it as follows:
2 x 2 x 2
First, you multiply the first two 2s:
2 x 2 = 4
Then, you multiply that result by the last 2:
4 x 2 = 8
So, 2 to the 3rd power equals 8. This concept is part of exponentiation, where a number is raised to a power to indicate how many times to use that number in multiplication.