In maths what is the no 3 with a small 2 beside it mean?

Ah, that's a lovely little symbol in math called an exponent! When you see a number with a small 2 beside it, like 3^2, it means you should multiply 3 by itself. So, 3^2 is the same as 3 multiplied by 3, which equals 9. It's like painting a beautiful mathematical masterpiece!