Scientific Notation

Let’s face it: Numbers go to infinity.

TO INFINTY
That way
…and it is a pain in the butt to write out
really really really big numbers.

“One Trillion”:
1,000,000,000,000

“One Google”:
10000000000000000000000000000000000
0
00000000000000000000000000000000000
0
0000000000000000000000000
Wait, wait…
How about one-google times three-google?

3000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000
 Wait, wait……what about really really small
numbers?

three-hundreths: .03

How about the OPPOSITE of google…”1

googlenth”:
0.0 0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000001
 Have no fear!!!
We have EXPONENTS to help us out!

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION: a way to write

really large numbers without hurting
your hand.
Try these in your calculator:

103 104 105 109

103 = 1000
104 = 10000
105 = 100000
10 = 1000000000
9
Scientific Notation is taking any number
and multiplying it by 10 with an exponent.

4000000000 = 4 • 1000000000

Much
easier = 4 • 10 9
!
Try some: Scientific Notation ?
400000000000 = 4 • 100000000000 = 4 • 1011

3000000 = 3 • 1000000 = 3 • 106

200000000 = 2 • 100000000 = 2 • 108

34500000 = 345 • 100000 = 345 • 105

Scientific Notation involves a decimal
number sometimes.

34500000 = 3.45 • 10000000

Calculate it !!
That is
Scientific 3.45 • 10
7

Notation !
 How to do it.
Count how many places you move the
decimal until you get next to the last digit.

45600000000000
That is your power of 10
Now put a decimal next to the number, and write
any other non-zero numbers, and times it by the
power of ten you counted.

4.56 • 10 13
What about really really small numbers ?

It works the same way, except with negative

integers.
.00000000000056 “13 places”

5.6 • 10 -13
 REVIEW
To change numbers from scientific notation
to regular ….
if the power of ten is positive, just move the
decimal to the left to make it a big number.

if the power of ten in negative, just move

the decimal to the right to make it a really
small number.
 Multiplying Scientific Notation
It is easy to multiply scientific notation
numbers.
Por Ejemplo: Just multiply the numbers
and 10’s separately
(2.34 • 10 )(4.5 • 10 )
3 5

(2.34 • 4.5) (103 • 105)

Now put it in
(10.53 • 10 )
9
8
scientific notation
Try it in your calculator:

Type in :
.00000000000056

then hit enter….

When dividing them, just divide the numbers
and ten’s separately:
(3.45 • 105)
(4.5 • 106)
3.45
• 10 5
=
.76 • 10 -1

4.5 106
= 7.6 • 10-2