The system of scientific notation was invented to express very large or very small numbers in a very compact and easy-to-calculate way. It is also sometimes referred to as "powers of ten" notation, because it takes advantage of the decimal nature of our number system. Scientific notation always involves raising 10 to some exponential power. Can you see a pattern developing below? Complete it.
Decimal Number |
"Broken down" into tens |
Powers of ten form |
| 100 | 10 X 10 | 102 (1 followed by 2 zeroes) |
| 1000 | 10 X 10 X 10 | 103 (1 followed by 3 zeroes) |
| 10,000 | 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 | 10? (1 followed by ? zeroes) |
| 100,000 | 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 X 10 | |
| 1,000,000 | ||
| 1,000,000,000 | ||
Questions? Ask the designer, Jim Heath
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