What is Scientific Notation?
Jenn, Founder Calcworkshop®, 15+ Years Experience (Licensed & Certified Teacher)
Scientific Notation, is a way for us to write and use very large or very small numbers easily.
In fact, you’ll quickly see that working in Scientific Notation enables us to work effectively all while avoiding careless mistakes with decimals.
To begin, we must understand how to read and write a number in scientific notation. As Math is Fun, so nicely points out, a number written in scientific notation has two parts:
The digits followed by x10 to a power
Next, we will discover the Scientific Notation Rules that we must follow to Convert to Scientific Notation or from Scientific Notation to Decimal Form (or Standard Form).
Scientific Notation is Based on Powers of 10
The first step in converting from scientific notation to decimal form is to ask yourself, “How many places do I need to move the decimal point?”
We do this by looking at the exponent (power).
If the power is positive, you move to the right, and if the power is negative you move to the left!
Now, if we want to convert from a decimal into Scientific Notation, or the power of 10, we still need to ask the same basic question…
…how many places do I need to move the decimal point?
We want the decimal point to be behind one single digit, other than zero, so we must move the decimal from its current location by counting places.
But this time, if we move the decimal left the power will be positive, and if we move the decimal right, the power will be negative.
Don’t worry; all will make sense once you see it in action.
Trust me!
Scientific Notation Examples
But, the efficiency of Scientific Notation isn’t limited to writing numbers, we can also perform Operations with Scientific Notation!
What type of operations?
Adding, Subtracting, Multiplying and Dividing with Scientific Notation.
We will walk through countless examples, and be able to use Scientific Notation efficiently, without the use of a calculator. But, it is important to note, that if you do use a calculator or math program, sometimes you will see an “E” instead of “x 10”, but don’t fear… they mean the same thing!
Scientific Notation (How-To) – Video
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