Originally Posted by
Mr. Cranky
If something is squared, the exponent is 2, so I'd say that's exponential.
It is semantics, but when the exponent is a constant it is usually referred to as polynomial growth. Exponential growth (where the exponent is a function) will always surpass both linear and polynomial growth over time.
Linear growth:
f(x) = a * x +b
Polynomial growth:
f(x) = a * x^b
Exponential growth:
f(x) = a * b^x