3 to the power of 1 is equal to 3. This might seem straightforward, but it’s a fundamental concept in mathematics. When we say ‘to the power of,’ we are referring to exponentiation, which involves a base number and an exponent. In this case, the base is 3 and the exponent is 1.
The exponent tells us how many times to multiply the base by itself. Since our exponent is 1, we only multiply the base once:
31 = 3
Thus, any number raised to the power of 1 is simply the number itself, as it only appears one time in the multiplication. So, 3 to the power of 1 is 3.