Power Play: A Math Card Game

Exponents can be tricky at first, and this game provides plenty of practice! Draw from a deck of cards to find your numbers. Create a problem using exponents, then use a calculator or scratch paper to work out the answers. Help one another out if someone gets stuck. Try to create problems that result in the largest products. If you do well, you'll win! You'll be working on multiplication and improving your understanding of exponents at the same time!

Term to Know:

exponent: shows how many times the number is to be used in multiplication; it is written as a small number at the upper right of a base number (e.g. 3⁴ = 3 x 3 x 3 x 3, which computes to 81.)

What You Need:

• One deck of cards (Print a deck.)
• Calculator or scratch paper and pencil
• Paper and pencil (for recording scores)

What You Do:

1. Players take turns drawing cards from a well-shuffled deck. Then, they use the two numbers they've drawn to create a problem with exponents. (For example, if they drew a 3 and a 4, they could create the problem 3⁴ or 4³.) Keep in mind, aces = 1, jacks = 11, queens = 12, and kings = 13.
2. Players may solve these problems using a calculator or scratch paper. (A calculator will put the focus on the skill, whereas scratch paper puts the focus on the computation.)
3. Record totals for each round. At the end of 5 rounds, add the totals up to see who's won!

Variations:

• Require players to use the smaller number as the exponent, or the larger.
• Play for the smallest total.