Scientific Notation

What is the scientific notation? In science, we often deal with very large or very small numbers, scientific notation is a way to write these numbers easily in decimal form –Often times, this means getting rid of all the zeros in the number, but not always!

How does the scientific notation work? Decimal: you should only have one number in front of the decimal point Exponent: this expresses how many zeros are in the number and can only be in whole numbers There are always two parts of the scientific notation 3.5 x 10 8

What does the scientific notation mean? 3.5 x 10 8 The exponent is positive 8, which means you move the decimal point 8 places to the right In all the empty places you add zeros, so it becomes 350,000, x The exponent is negative 8, which means you move the decimal point 8 places to the left In all the empty places you add zeros, so it becomes The decimal number is your starting point. You know how many places and which way to move the decimal point depending on the exponent.