1.4 Expressing Numbers Scientific Notation

1.
4: Expressing Numbers: Scientific Notation
1.4: Expressing Numbers: Scientific Notation

Skills to Develop
• To express a large number or a small number in scientific notation.
The instructions for making a pot of coffee specified 3 scoops (rather than 12,000 grounds) because any measurement is
expressed more efficiently with units that are appropriate in size. In science, however, we often must deal with quantities that
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are extremely small or incredibly large. For example, you may have 5,000,000,000,000 red blood cells in a liter of blood, and
the diameter of an iron atom is 0.000000014 inches. Numbers with many zeros can be cumbersome to work with, so scientists
use scientific notation.
Scientific notation is a system for expressing very large or very small numbers in a compact manner. It uses the idea that such
numbers can be rewritten as a simple number multiplied by 10 raised to a certain exponent, or power.
Let us look first at large numbers. Suppose a spacecraft is 1,500,000 miles from Mars. The number 1,500,000 can be thought
of as follows:
That is, 1,500,000 is the same as 1.5 times 1 million, and 1 million is 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10 × 10, or 106 (which is read as “ten
to the sixth power”). Therefore, 1,500,000 can be rewritten as 1.5 times 106, or 1.5 × 106. The distance of the spacecraft from
Mars can therefore be expressed as 1.5 × 106 miles.
• 100 = 1
• 101 = 10
• 102 = 100
• 103 = 1,000
• 104 = 10,000
• and so forth
The convention for expressing numbers in scientific notation is to write a single nonzero first digit, a decimal point, and the rest
of the digits, excluding any trailing zeros. This figure is followed by a multiplication sign and then by 10 raised to the power
necessary to reproduce the original number. For example, although 1,500,000 can also be written as 15. × 105 (which would be
15. × 100,000), the convention is to have only one digit before the decimal point. How do we know to what power 10 is raised?
The power is the number of places you have to move the decimal point to the left to make it follow the first digit, so that the
number being multiplied is between 1 and 10:
Example \(\PageIndex{1}\): Scientific Notation
Express each number in scientific notation.

a. 67,000,000,000
b. 1,689
c. 12.6
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SOLUTION
a. Moving the decimal point 10 places to the left gives 6.7 × 1010.
b. The decimal point is assumed to be at the end of the number, so moving it three places to the left gives 1.689 × 103.
c. In this case, we need to move the decimal point only one place to the left, which yields 1.26 × 10 1.
Exercise \(\PageIndex{1}\)

a. 1,492
b. 102,000,000
c. 101,325
To change scientific notation to standard notation, we reverse the process, moving the decimal point to the right. Add zeros to
the end of the number being converted, if necessary, to produce a number of the proper magnitude.
Example \(\PageIndex{2}\)
Express each number in standard, or nonscientific, notation.
a. 5.27 × 104
b. 1.0008 × 106
SOLUTION
a. Rather than moving the decimal to the left, we move it four places to the right and add zeros to give 52,700.
b. Moving the decimal six places to the right gives 1,000,800.

1. 0.000006567
2. −0.0004004
3. 0.000000000000123
SOUTION
1. Move the decimal point six places to the right to get 6.567 × 10−6.
2. Move the decimal point four places to the right to get −4.004 × 10−4. The negative sign on the number itself does
not affect how we apply the rules of scientific notation.
3. Move the decimal point 13 places to the right to get 1.23 × 10−13.
Express each number in standard, or nonscientific, notation.
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a. \(6.98 \times 10^8\)
b. \(1.005 \times 10^2\)
We can also use scientific notation to express numbers whose magnitudes are less than 1. For example, the number 0.006 can
be expressed as follows:
• 10−1 = 1/10
• 10−2 = 1/100
• 10−3 = 1/1,000
• 10−4 = 1/10,000
• 10−5 = 1/100,000
and so forth
We use a negative number as the power to indicate the number of places we have to move the decimal point to the right to
follow the first nonzero digit. This is illustrated as follows:
In scientific notation, numbers with a magnitude greater than one have a positive power, while numbers with a magnitude less
than one have a negative power.

a. 0.000355
b. 0.314159
As with numbers with positive powers of 10, when changing from scientific notation to standard notation, we reverse the
process.
Express each number in standard notation.
1. 6.22 × 10−2
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2. 9.9 × 10−9
SOLUTION
1. 0.0622
2. 0.0000000099
Express each number in standard notation.
a. 9.98 × 10−5
b. 5.109 × 10−8
Although calculators can show 8 to 10 digits in their display windows, that is not always enough when working with very large
or very small numbers. For this reason, many calculators are designed to handle scientific notation. The method for entering
scientific notation differs for each calculator model, so take the time to learn how to do it properly on your calculator, asking
your instructor for assistance if necessary. If you do not learn to enter scientific notation into your calculator properly, you will
not get the correct final answer when performing a calculation.
Concept Review Exercises

1. Why it is easier to use scientific notation to express very large or very small numbers?
2. What is the relationship between how many places a decimal point moves and the power of 10 used in changing a
conventional number into scientific notation?
Answers
1. Scientific notation is more convenient than listing a large number of zeros.
2. The number of places the decimal point moves equals the power of 10—positive if the decimal point moves to the left
and negative if the decimal point moves to the right.
Key Takeaway
• Large or small numbers are expressed in scientific notation, which use powers of 10.
Contributors
• Anonymous
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1.

4: Expressing Numbers: Scientific Notation

1.4: Expressing Numbers: Scientific Notation

Example \(\PageIndex{1}\): Scientific Notation

Express each number in scientific notation.

Express each number in scientific notation.

Express each number in standard, or nonscientific, notation.

Express each number in scientific notation.

Express each number in standard, or nonscientific, notation.

Express each number in scientific notation.

Express each number in standard notation.

Express each number in standard notation.

Concept Review Exercises

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