Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
The scientific notation of the number 5,300,000 is 5.3 × 106.
The scientific notation of the number 0.0000000089 is 8.9 × 10-9.
A. 3.6 × 101
B. 3.6 × 103
C. 3.6 × 102
D. 3.6 × 10-1
Correct Answer: B
Step 1: Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the
first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
Step 2: The first factor in the scientific notation of 3,600 is 3.6. [Move the decimal point to get a factor greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10.]
Step 3: The second factor is 103. [The decimal point is moved 3 places to the left. Use this number as the power of 10.]
Step 4: The representation of one hour in scientific notation is 3.6 × 103 seconds.
Q1: What is 4,500 in scientific notation?
Q2: What is 0.00032 in scientific notation?
Q: Why do we use scientific notation?
A: Scientific notation makes it easier to work with very large or very small numbers by expressing them in a more manageable form.
Q: How do I convert a number to scientific notation?
A: Move the decimal point until you have a number between 1 and 10. Count how many places you moved the decimal point. This number will be the exponent of 10. If you moved the decimal to the left, the exponent is positive. If you moved it to the right, the exponent is negative.