Because the exponent of a number says how many times to use the number in a multiplication. In 1.2 exponent 2 the "2" says to use 1.2 twice in a multiplication, so 1.2'2 = 1.2 × 1.2 = 1.44 In words: 1.2'2 could be called "1.2 to the power 2" or "1.2 to the second power.
