Scientific Notation Basics
Scientific notation breaks numbers into two factors without changing their value. The first factor is always a number between 1 and 10, while the second factor is a power of 10. For example, instead of writing 12,500, you can write it as 1.25 ร 10ยณ, where 1.25 is your first factor and 10ยณ is your second factor.
When converting large numbers to scientific notation, you'll move the decimal point to the left and use a positive exponent. For example, 908,000 becomes 9.08 ร 10โต because you moved the decimal point 5 places left. For small numbers, you'll move the decimal point to the right and use a negative exponent. So 0.0000700 becomes 7.00 ร 10โปโต because you moved the decimal point 5 places right.
Remember this simple rule: when the decimal point moves left, the exponent goes up (positive). When the decimal point moves right, the exponent goes down (negative). For example, 156,000 becomes 1.56 ร 10โต (moved 5 places left), while 0.0000053 becomes 5.3 ร 10โปโถ (moved 6 places right).
๐ก Think of scientific notation as a decimal point elevator: for every floor the decimal point moves left, the exponent goes up by 1; for every floor it moves right, the exponent goes down by 1.