Scientific

Notation
 Prepared by: Jirah Zabaljauregui, Sherina
Oya, Bryan Yap, Kimberly Lopez, Jasmine
Bejino, Justina Holgado, Leinard Casupang,
Shiela Mae Aguilar, Clerk Enrado
 II – Venus
 Submitted to: Mr. Delos Santos
What is scientific Notation?

• Scientific notation is a way of

expressing really big numbers or really
small numbers.
• It is most often used in “scientific”
calculations where the analysis must be
very precise.
Why use scientific notation?

• For very large and very small numbers,

these numbers can be converted into
scientific notation to express them in a
more concise form.
• Numbers expressed in scientific
notation can be used in a computation
with far greater ease.
When using Scientific Notation, there are
two kinds of exponents: positive and
negative
Positive Exponent:
2.35 x 108

Negative Exponent:
3.97 x 10-7
When changing scientific notation to
standard notation, the exponent tells you
if you should move the decimal:

With a positive exponent, move the

decimal to the right:
4.08 x 103 = 4 0 8

Don’t forget to fill in your zeroes!

When changing scientific notation to
standard notation, the exponent tells you
if you should move the decimal:

With a negative exponent, move the

decimal to the left:
4.08 x 10-3 = 408

Don’t forget to fill in your zeroes!

An easy way to remember this is:
• If an exponent is positive, the number
gets larger, so move the decimal to
the right.

• If an exponent is negative, the

number gets smaller, so move the
decimal to the left.
The exponent also tells how many spaces
to move the decimal:

4.08 x 103 = 4 0 8

In this problem, the exponent is +3, so

the decimal moves 3 spaces to the right.
The exponent also tells how many spaces
to move the decimal:

4.08 x 10-3 = 408

In this problem, the exponent is -3, so the

decimal moves 3 spaces to the left.
Example 1

• Given: 5.093 x 106

• Answer: 5,093,000 (moved 6 places
to the right)
Example 2

• Given: 1.976 x 10-4

• Answer: 0.0001976 (moved 4 places
to the left)
Practice: Try changing these numbers from
Scientific Notation to Standard Notation:
1) 9.678 x 104 96780

2) 7.4521 x 10-3 .0074521

85139045.67
3) 8.513904567 x 10 7

.0000409748
4) 4.09748 x 10 -5
When changing from Standard Notation
to Scientific Notation:
1) First, move the decimal after the first whole
number:
3258
2) Second, add your multiplication sign and
your base (10).
3 . 2 5 8 x 10
3) Count how many spaces the decimal moved
and this is the exponent.
3 . 2 5 8 x 10 3
3 2 1
When changing from Standard Notation
to Scientific Notation:
4) See if the original number is greater than or
less than one.
– If the number is greater than one, the
exponent will be positive.
348943 = 3.489 x 105

– If the number is less than one, the

exponent will be negative.
.0000000672 = 6.72 x 10-8
Example 1

• Given: 289,800,000
• Use: 2.898 (moved 8 places)
• Answer: 2.898 x 108
Example 2

• Given: 0.000567
• Use: 5.67 (moved 4 places)
• Answer: 5.67 x 10-4
Practice: Try changing these numbers from
Standard Notation to Scientific Notation:
1) 9872432 9.872432 x 106

2) .0000345 3.45 x 10-5

3) .08376 8.376 x 102

4) 5673 5.673 x 103

Multiplying and Dividing
Numbers in Scientific Notation
• The main reason scientists use Scientific
notation is because it makes calculations
easier
• You never have to multiply or divide by a
number larger than 10
• The rest is simply addition or subtraction
Multiplying Numbers in Scientific Notation
• Given the following:
– 3x105 ● 5x106 = ?
• First step: Operate on the numbers in front
– 3 • 5 = 15
• Second step: Operate on the exponents
– When we multiply numbers with exponents, we add the
exponents
– 105 ● 106 = 1011
• Third step: put them together
– 15x1011
• Fourth step: check to see if number is in good
scientific notation
– 15 is bigger than 10
– Shift the decimal 1 place and add 1 to exponent
– 1.5x1012
Dividing Numbers in Scientific
Notation
• Given the following:
– 3x105 ÷ 5x106 = ?
• First step: Operate on the numbers in front
– 3 ÷ 5 = 0.6
• Second step: Operate on the exponents
– When we divide numbers with exponents, we subtract the
exponents
– 105 ÷ 106 = 10-1
• Third step: put them together
– 0.6x10-1
• Fourth step: check to see if number is in good scientific
notation
– 0.6 is smaller than 1
– Shift the decimal 1 place and subtract 1 (or add -1) from the
exponent
– 6x10-2
References:
www.google.com/scientific_notation
http://www.aaamath.com/dec71i-dec2sci.ht
ml
http://janus.astro.umd.edu/cgi-bin/astro/scin
ote.pl
http://www.sciencejoywagon.com/physicszo
ne/lesson/00genral/dectosci.htm
END OF PRESENATION.