Scientific Notation

Scientific notation is a way of representing numbers, usually very large or very small, in the form

a*10b where 1 ≤ |a| < 10 is a decimal number and b is an integer (negative or positive).

a is called the mantissa and b is called the exponent.

To convert a number to scientific notation:

· If the number has no decimal point, then add one at the end.

· Then move the decimal point to just after the first digit while counting the number of places you have moved it.

· The new number, formed after moving the decimal point is a.

· The number of places to the left that the decimal point was moved is b. If it was moved to the right, then b is negative.

For example:

23045.06 becomes 2.304506*104

0.00023004 becomes 2.3004*10-4

Step One: 0.0049948 * 101.

Step Two: Carry the decimal three to the right. 4.9948.

Step Three: Decrease the exponent by three.

Step Four: Write out: 4.9948 * 10-2.

Step Five: You're done!