SCIENTIFIC NOTATION LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET 1.

2
Scientific notation is a way to write very large or very small numbers as the product of
two numbers: a coefficient and the number 10 raised to a power. The proper format for
scientific notation is a x 10b where a is the coefficient which must be a number greater than
or equal to 1 but less than 10, and b is the power of 10 required so that the scientific notation
is mathematically equivalent to the original number.

In converting numbers to scientific notation, follow these rules:

1. Move the decimal point in your number until there is only one non-zero digit to the left of the
decimal point. The resulting decimal is a.
2. Count how many places you moved the decimal point. This number is the value of b.
3. If you move the decimal to the left, b is positive. If you move the decimal to the right, b is
negative.

Example 1: The distance from Earth to the sun is approximately 150,000,000,000 meters.
Express this distance in scientific notation.
Answer: 150,000,000,000 meters = 1.5 x 1011 meters
Example 2: A carbon atom has a mass of 0.000000000000000000000020 grams. Write this
mass in scientific notation.
Answer: 0.00000000000000000000020 grams = 2.0 x10-23 grams

ACTIVITY 1
Instruction: Express the following numbers in scientific notation.

ACTIVITY 2
Instruction: To gain more insights on expressing measurements in scientific notation, do the
following exercises.
1. The size of the pores of a surgical mask can be up to 5 x 10-4 m. Express this in decimal
form.

2. The distance from the earth to the nearest star is about 39 900 000 000 000 000m. In scientific
notation it is written as ___________________________.
3. The mass of hydrogen atom is 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 7 kilograms. In
scientific notation it is written as ___________________________.

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