C Program to Calculate Power of a Number

1. Introduction

Calculating the power of a number is fundamental in numerous scientific, engineering, and mathematical applications. In this guide, we'll implement a C program that computes the power of a number without using the built-in pow function.

2. Program Overview

Our program will:

1. Request the user to input a base number and an exponent.

2. Calculate the power of the base number raised to the exponent.

3. Showcase the result to the user.

3. Code Program

#include <stdio.h>  // Include the Standard I/O library

int main() {  // Commence the program

    int base, exponent, result = 1;  // Declare the base, exponent, and the result variable

    // Query the user for the base and the exponent
    printf("Enter base: ");
    scanf("%d", &base);
    printf("Enter exponent: ");
    scanf("%d", &exponent);

    // Calculate power using a loop
    for(int i = 0; i < exponent; i++) {
        result *= base;  // Multiply result with base repeatedly
    }

    printf("%d raised to the power of %d = %d\n", base, exponent, result);  // Exhibit the computed result

    return 0;  // Conclude the program efficiently
}

Output:

Enter base: 3

4. Step By Step Explanation

1. #include <stdio.h>: We bring in the standard input and output library for our I/O functions.

2. int main(): The starting point of our program.

3. Variable Declaration:

• base: To store the base number.
• exponent: To store the power to which the base will be raised.
• result: Initialized to 1, this variable will store the final result after calculations.

4. User Input: We invite the user to enter the base and exponent values.

5. Power Calculation:

• A for loop iterates exponent times.
• Inside the loop, the result is multiplied by the base during each iteration. This mechanism effectively raises the base to the specified power.

6. Output: After calculations, the program reveals the outcome.

The design used in this program accentuates the utility of loops to simulate repeated multiplication, allowing us to compute the power of a number efficiently.