Chemistry
Scientific Notation
Information
Facts about Scientific Notation:
1. Normal Numbers bigger than 1, or large numbers, always have a POSITIVE Power of 10.
2. Numbers smaller than 1, usually decimal values, always have a NEGATIVE Power of 10.
3. The first part of Scientific Notation is always a number value that is between 1 and 10.
(ex. 1, 1.5, 2.3, 3.167, 4, 5.21, 6.3, 8.20, 9.9999 etc)
4. The second part of Scientific Notation is a Power of 10 which tells us how many places
the decimal point is moving.
Changing Large (bigger than 1) Numbers to Scientific Notation:
240,000  2.4 x 105
1. Move the decimal to the left to make a number between 1 and 10.
2. Count how many places the decimal point moved.
3. Write the number without all the insignificant 0’s (keep any significant zeros) and
multiply by a 10 with a power on it. The exponent (power) on the 10 tells how many
places the decimal point was moved.
Changing small numbers (less than 1) Numbers to Scientific Notation:
0.0000480  4.80 x 105
1. Move the decimal to the right to make a number between 1 and 10.
2. Count how many places the decimal point moved.
3. Use a negative power on the 10 to show how many places the decimal point was
moved.
Changing Scientific Notation with positive powers on the ten to normal
(Standard) numbers (no power of ten):
5.3x 107  53,000,000
1. Since the exponent (power) is positive, make a larger number.
2. Move the decimal point to the Right by the number of places according to the power on
the ten. Then add zeros to fill in the spaces.
3. Write the number in standard form (no power, no x 10)
Changing Scientific Notation with negative powers on the ten to normal
(Standard) numbers (no power of ten):
1.07 x 10-6  0.00000107
1. Since the exponent (power) is negative, make a number smaller than one.
2. Move the decimal point to the Left by the number of places according to the power on
the ten. Then add zeros to fill in the spaces.
3. Write the number in standard form (no power, no x 10)
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Chemistry
Scientific Notation
Information
Scientific Notation on the Calculator:
Express 3.45 x 106 as a number value (standard form).
On the calculator, scientific notation is done with the EE or EXP or x10n button.
Find out which one your calculator has. The EE button may be 2nd function,
which is often true on a graphing calculator.
3.45 x 106 is typed as 3.45 EE 6 or 3.45 EXP 6 or 3.45 x10n 6, depending
on your calculator. Notice that you are NOT typing in x10.
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