Scientific Notation: Introduction

Why are the many zeros in very large or very small numbers considered problematic in scientific calculations?

• They make numbers difficult to pronounce correctly.

• They can lead to errors when typing or performing calculations manually.

• They obscure the significant figures of the number.

• They indicate that the number is an approximation, not exact.

What is scientific notation primarily used for in science?

• To express numbers as fractions for easier comparison.

• To simplify the representation and calculation of extremely large or small numbers.

• To convert numbers into a base-2 system for computer processing.

• To eliminate all non-zero digits from a number.

When converting a very large number into scientific notation, if the decimal point is moved to the left, what happens to the exponent of 10?

• It becomes negative.

• It remains unchanged.

• It increases (goes up).

• It decreases (goes down).

When converting a very small number into scientific notation, if the decimal point is moved to the right, what happens to the exponent of 10?

• It increases (goes up).

• It becomes positive.

• It decreases (goes down).

• It remains unchanged.

Convert 813,000,000,000,000 into scientific notation.

• 8.13 x 10^15

• 8.13 x 10^14

• 81.3 x 10^13

• 0.813 x 10^15

Convert 0.0000000214 into scientific notation.

• 2.14 x 10^-7

• 2.14 x 10^8

• 2.14 x 10^-8

• 21.4 x 10^-9

Convert 7.921 x 10^8 into decimal notation.

• 79,210,000

• 792,100,000

• 7,921,000,000

• 0.00000007921

Convert 8.2 x 10^-5 into decimal notation.

• 0.0000082

• 0.000082

• 820,000

• 0.00082