Move the decimal until the resulting number is greater than 1 and less than 10. The number of places the decimal moves is the exponent of 10 in the scientific notation.
4 * 10^(- 5)
Practice makes perfect
A number written in scientific notation usually expresses a very large or very small number by writing its value as a product of 10 to some power. Let's look at some examples.
Standard Notation
Scientific Notation
5 0 000 000 000
5 * 10^(10)
5 00 000
5 * 10^5
5 0
5 * 10^1
5
5 * 10^0
0.5
5 * 10^(- 1)
0.00005
5 * 10^(- 5)
0.0000000005
5 * 10^(- 10)
To change from standard form to scientific notation, move the decimal until the resulting number is greater than 1 and less than 10. The number of places the decimal moves is the exponent of 10.
0.00004
In this case, to get a number between 1 and 10, we should move the decimal five places to the right.
Therefore, the scientific notation of 0.00004 is 4 * 10^(- 5).
Standard Form:& 0.00004
Scientific Notation:& 4 * 10^(- 5)
