To express the number 8 in its prime factorization using exponents, first, let's break down the number:
8 can be factored into 2 × 2 × 2, which can be expressed as \(2^3\).
So the prime factorization of 8 is:
\[ 8 = 2^3 \]
Here, the number you can use in the exponent is 2, and the exponent is 3, as it indicates that 2 is multiplied by itself three times to give 8.