How to Convert to the Scientific Notation
Science often deals with very large and very small numbers. For example, the speed of light is 300,000,000 meters per second, and the mass of a dust particle is 0.000000000753 kg. These numbers can be difficult to work with, since you have to count out all the zeroes to see how large or small the numbers are. Thankfully, scientists have developed the system of scientific notation to easily understand and compare large or small numbers. In scientific notation, numbers are expressed as a coefficient multiplied by a power of 10.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Write out the number in regular notation. If the number does not have a decimal point in it, place one at the end. For example, write the speed of light as 300000000. m/s and the mass of a dust particle as 0.000000000753 kg.
-
2
Place a second decimal point after the first non-zero digit in the number. To continue from the previous examples, the speed of light would be 3.00000000. m/s and the mass of a dust particle would be 0.0000000007.53 kg.
-
-
3
Count the number of digits between the original decimal point and the new one you just added. For the speed of light, there are eight digits, while for the mass of a dust particle, there are 10.
-
4
Express the original number as a coefficient multiplied by the power of 10 equal to the number of digits between the decimal points. The exponent should be positive if your new decimal point was to the left of the old one and negative if it was to the right. For example, the speed of light is 3.0 x 10^6 m/s and the mass of a dust particle is 7.53 x 10^-10 kg.
-
1
