Scientific Notation
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Scientific notation is a way of expressing numbers that are too large or too small (usually would result in a long string of digits) to be conveniently written in decimal form. The form of a number in scientific notation is , where m is a number with 1 digit in front of the decimal point and k is an integer. For example, 65000000000 is written as in scientific notation, and 0.0000000009 is in scientific notation. To write a number in scientific notation, move the decimal point to be directly after the first (AKA leftmost) nonzero digit. If the decimal was moved n digits to the left, multiply the new number by . If it was moved n digits to the right, multiply by .
Examples:
- 700: 700 = 700., so we move the decimal point two digits to the left. Thus, 700. = in scientific notation.
- 0.00051: We need to move the decimal place 4 digits to the right to place it directly after 5, so 0.00051 = in scientific notation.
- : is approximately 7745.97, so .
Resources
- Exponents and Scientific Notation, OpenStax
- Scientific Notation, Texas A&M University
- Scientific Notation, Math Is Fun