Helping us write really tiny or really big numbers Scientific Notation Helping us write really tiny or really big numbers
Rules to Scientific Notation Parts: 1. Coefficient (mantissa) – must be a number from 1 – 9.9 2. Exponent – a power of 10 3.4 x 1021 Easier than writing 3,400,000,000,000,000,000,000
Numbers Greater Than 9.9 Create a number that is between 1 – 9.9 by moving the decimal point to the left 45,300,000 4.53 Write a positive exponent which is equal to the number of places you moved the decimal point to the left. 4.53 x 107
Numbers Less Than 1 Create a number that is between 1 – 9.9 by moving the decimal point to the right 0.000291 2.91 Write a negative exponent which is equal to the number of places you moved the decimal point to the right. 2.91 x 10-4
Be Careful… Remember your coefficient should display the proper amount of significant figures…and your calculator doesn’t know sig figs!!!! Ex. (4.2 x 108) x (6.35 x 1012) = 2.667 x 1021 WRONG!!! Answer = 2.7 x 1021
Special Note Sometimes exponents are written differently We are used to 3.4 x 105 However, you may see 3.4E5 It means the same thing (“E” represents the exponent and replaces x 10) The exponent key is a “2nd function” on your calculator