Scientific Notation
Definition of Scientific Notation
- Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
Examples of Scientific Notation
- The scientific notation of the number 5,300,000 is
.
- The scientific notation of the number 0.0000000089 is
.
Solved Example on Scientific Notation
An hour is equal to 3,600 seconds. Write this number in scientific notation.
Choices:
A. 
B. 
C. 
D. 
Correct answer: B
Solution:
Step 1: Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the
first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
Step 2: The first factor in the scientific notation of 3,600 is 3.6. [Move the decimal point to get a factor greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10.]
Step 3: The second factor is 
. [The decimal point is moved 3 places to the left. Use this number as the power of 10.]
Step 4: The representation of one hour in scientific notation is 
seconds.
Related Terms for Scientific Notation
Additional Links for Scientific Notation
