Scientific Notation
-
A given number is written as the product of two numbers: a coefficient and 10 raised to a power
6.02 x 1023
Coefficient
Power of 10
10
17,500 written in scientific notation would be 1.75 x 104
0.0050 written in scientific notation would be 5.0 x 10-3
- When we move the decimal to the RIGHT, we REDUCE the exponent value
- When we move the decimal to the LEFT, the exponent value gets LARGER
Operations and Scientific Notation
Multiplication or Division


When multiplying, we multiply the coefficients, and then add the exponent values
Ex. (3.0 x 105)(5.0 x 10-2) = (3.0 x 5.0) x 105 + (-2)  15.0 x 103
-this however is not in proper scientific notation so we move the decimal to the LEFT
and the exponent gets LARGER and get  1.50 x 104
When dividing we use the same procedure except we divide the coefficients and subtract the
exponents
Ex. (3.5 x 105) / (1.0 x 102) = (3.5/1.0) x 105 – 2  3.5 x 103
Addition or Subtraction


When adding or subtracting you want to get your exponents to the same value, and then just
complete the operation, either addition or subtraction, with the coefficients.
Ex. 5.63 x 1010 + 2.43 x 1012
-for this example we will reduce the exponent of 12 by moving the decimal to the RIGHT two
times in order to REDUCE the exponent from 12 to 10.
-our new equation reads  5.63 x 1010 + 243 x 1010
-now we just do the math  (5.63 + 243) = 248.63 x 1010
-in proper scientific notation we have  2.4863 x 1012 (we move the decimal 2 places to the
LEFT which in turn makes the exponent LARGER by an increment of 2)
The same process is true for subtraction.
Metric (SI) Base Units
Length = meter (m)
Mass = kilogram(kg)
Volume = Liter (L)
-cm3 = (L x W x H) = mL
Temperature = Celsius (oC)
o
C = 5/9(oF – 32)
o
F = (9/5)(oC) + 32
Kelvin (K)  0 oC = 273 K
SI Prefixes
Mega (M)
Kilo (k)
BASE
deci (d)
centi (c)
milli (m)
micro (u)
nano (n)
pico (p)
1 km = 1000 m
1 mm = 10-3 m
1pg = 10-12 g
106
103
1  g, m, L
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-6
10-9
10-12