1. SCIENTIFIC NOTATION 5.67 x 105 Coefficient Base Exponent
1. The coefficient must be greater than or equal to 1 and less than The base must be The exponent must show the number of decimal places that the decimal needs to be moved to change the number to standard notation.  A negative exponent means that the decimal is moved to the left when changing to standard notation.

2. EXAMPLES 102 10-4 6.03 x 107 Remember = 10 X 10  100 =.0001
107 = 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 =
6.03 x 107 = 6.03 x = 60,300,000

3. NEGATIVE Change 5.3 x 10-4 to standard notation = 0.00053
The exponent tells us to move the decimal four places to the left =
Change into SN
9.02 x 10-7

4. DIVIDE SN Ex. 1 Divide 3.5 x 108 by 6.6 x 104
rewrite the problem as:                 3.5 x 108                                                  _________________                                                           6.6 x 104        
Divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents to get:      x 104
Change to correct scientific notation and round to correct significant digits to get: 5.3 x 103
Note - We subtract one from the exponent because we moved the decimal one place to the right

5. MULTIPLY SN Multiply (3.45 x 107) x (6.25 x 105)
first rewrite the problem as:  
  (3.45 x 6.25) x (107 x 105)
Then multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:    x 1012
Then change to correct scientific notation and round to correct significant digits:  2.16 x 1013
NOTE - we add one to the exponent because we moved the decimal one place to the left

6. ADD OR SUBTRACT Add 3.76 x 104 and 5.5 x 102
move the decimal to change 5.5 x 102 to x 104
add the coefficients and leave the base and exponent the same:  = x 104
following the rules for rounding, our final answer is x 104

7. Significant Figures Digits from 1-9 are always significant.
Zeros between two other significant digits are always significant
One or more additional zeros to the right of both the decimal place and another significant digit are significant.
Zeros used solely for spacing the decimal point (placeholders) are not significant.

8. Examples of Significant Digits
453 kg 3
All non-zero digits are always significant.
5057 L 4
Zeros between 2 sig. dig. are significant.
5.00
Additional zeros to the right of decimal and a sig. dig. are significant.
0.007 1
Placeholders are not sig.

9. Significant Figures
When multiplying or dividing, your answer may only show as many significant digits as the multiplied or divided measurement showing the least number of significant digits.
When adding or subtracting your answer can only show as many decimal places as the measurement having the fewest number of decimal places.