Convert A Number To Scientific Notation
How to Convert A Number To Scientific Notation?
Very large or very small numbers are usually written in scientific notation:
A × 10n where 1 ≤ |A| < 10 and n is an integer.
Example:
2 350 000 = 2.35 × 106
0.000 875 4 = 8.754 × 10–4
The following figures show how to convert decimals to scientific notation. Scroll down the page for more examples and solutions.
To convert a number into scientific notation:
Method 1
Rewrite the number as a product of a number A such that 1 ≤ |A| < 10 and a power of 10.
Example:
64 000 = 6.4 × 10 000
= 6.4 × 104
Method 2
Step 1 : Shift the decimal point of the number A to the left or to the right until 1 ≤ |A| < 10
Step 2 : Count the number of places that the decimal point has moved. The count would be the index n. If the decimal point was moved to the left then n is positive. If the decimal point was moved to the right then n is negative.
Example:
Example:
Write each of the following numbers in scientific notation:
a) 734 000 b) 0.00685
Solution:
a) 734 000 = 7.34 × 10 000 = 7.34 × 105
or
b) 0.00685 = 6.85 × 
= 6.85 × 10-3
or
The following video shows more examples of converting numbers to scientific notation
Learn how to convert in and out of scientific notation in these step by step examples
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