I just watched an online instructional video and cannot imagine why I ever found exponents daunting.  Salman Khan, founder of nonprofit Khan Academy, delivers easy-to-follow, 10-minute clips that explain how to work through math concepts, so you can get on with your homework.

Using a simple blackboard format, each video walks the viewer through example problems. Available math topics include basic arithmetic, pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, pre-calculus, calculus, probability, and differential equations.

Khan has also created videos on physics, SAT preparation, finance, and the credit crisis.  The SAT videos address all 432 problems in “The Official SAT Study Guide” by the College Board.

The Harvard- and MIT-educated Khan, an investment professional by day, started making math videos at night to help family and friends.  Word of his technique spread and now thousands of viewers from around the world depend on Khan’s one-man tutoring show.