Scientific notation

POWERS OF 10

1. If we multiply a number by a power of 10, e can count the number of

zeroes to know how many spaces to move the __________ to the
__________.

Solution:

decimal point, right

2. Find the product.

450 ⋅ 100

Solution:

450 ⋅ 1

450

3. Find the quotient.

6.4 ÷ 100

1
Solution:

0.064

4. Find the product.

3.5 × 104

Solution:

35,000

5. Find the product.

1.8 × 10−2

Solution:

0.018

6. Find the quotient.

420 ÷ 103

2
Solution:

0.42

3
SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

1. Scientific notation has 2 parts. The first part is the decimal number and
the second part is the __________.

Solution:

power of 10

2. The decimal number of a number written in scientific notation must be

greater than or equal to 1 and less than __________.

Solution:

10

3. Write the number in scientific notation.

0.000000056

Solution:

4
5.6 × 10−8

4. Write the number in scientific notation.

0.00000000000012

Solution:

1.2 × 10−13

5. Write number in expanded form.

7.2 × 1012

Solution:

7,200,000,000,000

6. Write number in expanded form.

4.9 × 10−7

Solution:

5
0.00000049

6
MULTIPLYING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

1. Write the product (3.1 × 105)(5.5 × 10−7) in scientific notation.

Solution:

Multiply the decimal numbers together, separately from the powers of 10.

(3.1 × 5.5)(105 × 10−7)

17.05 × (105 × 10−7)

To multiply the powers of 10, add the exponents.

17.05 × 105+(−7)

17.05 × 105−7

17.05 × 10−2

Proper scientific notation requires just one non-zero digit in front of the
decimal point, which means we need to move the decimal point one place
to the left. Therefore, we rewrite the expression as

1.705 × 101 × 10−2

Now simplify the powers of 10 again.

1.705 × 101+(−2)

7
 1.705 × 101−2

1.705 × 10−1

2. Write the product (1.8 × 104)(5.9 × 106) in scientific notation.

Solution:

Multiply the decimal numbers together, separately from the powers of 10.

(1.8 × 5.9)(104 × 106)

10.62 × (104 × 106)

To multiply the powers of 10, add the exponents

10.62 × 104+6

10.62 × 1010

Proper scientific notation requires just one non-zero digit in front of the
decimal point, which means we need to move the decimal point one place
to the left. Therefore, we rewrite the expression as

1.062 × 101 × 1010

Now simplify the powers of 10 again.

1.062 × 101+10

8
 1.062 × 1011

3. Write the product (8.8 × 10−2)(7.85 × 10−5) in scientific notation.

Solution:

Multiply the decimal numbers together, separately from the powers of 10.

(8.8 × 7.85)(10−2 × 10−5)

69.08 × (10−2 × 10−5)

To multiply the powers of 10, add the exponents.

69.08 × 10−2+(−5)

69.08 × 10−2−5

69.08 × 10−7

Proper scientific notation requires just one non-zero digit in front of the
decimal point, which means we need to move the decimal point one place
to the left. Therefore, we rewrite the expression as

6.908 × 101 × 10−7

Now simplify the powers of 10 again.

6.908 × 101+(−7)

9
 6.908 × 101−7

6.908 × 10−6

4. Write the product (1.3 × 103)(2.6 × 10−4) in scientific notation.

Solution:

Multiply the decimal numbers together, separately from the powers of 10.

(1.3 × 2.6)(103 × 10−4)

3.38 × (103 × 10−4)

To multiply the powers of 10, add the exponents.

3.38 × 103+(−4)

3.38 × 103−4

3.38 × 10−1

5. If we’re given 3.6 × 10−2 in scientific notation, will we get a smaller or

larger number when we multiply it by a positive power of 10?

Solution:

10
Let’s pretend we’re multiplying by 103. When we do, we get

3.6 × 10−2 × 103

3.6 × 10−2+3

3.6 × 101

3.6 × 10

36

This is a larger value than 3.6 × 10−2, so we can say that multiplying by a
positive power of 10 will give a larger number.

6. Yvonne is asked to find the product of two numbers written in

scientific notation:

(2.8 × 104)(4.46 × 10−6)

She solves the problem in three steps.

Step 1 2.8 × 4.46 = 12.488

Step 2 4 + (−6) = − 2

Step 3 12.488 × 10−2

In what step did she make her mistake? What is the correct answer?

11
Solution:

She made her mistake in Step 3. She forgot to change the decimal back to
a number between 1 and 10. She would get the correct answer in one more
step:

1.2488 × 101 × 10−2

1.2488 × 101+(−2)

1.2488 × 101−2

1.2488 × 10−1

12
DIVIDING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

1. When we divide two numbers that have the same base, we

__________ the exponents.

Solution:

subtract

2. Find the value of (1.5 × 108) ÷ (2.0 × 10−3).

Solution:

Divide the decimal numbers, separately from the powers of 10.

1.5 108
× −3
2.0 10

108
0.75 × −3
10

To divide the powers of 10, subtract the exponent in the denominator from
the exponent in the numerator.

0.75 × 108−(−3)

13
 0.75 × 108+3

0.75 × 1011

Proper scientific notation requires one non-zero digit in front of the

decimal point, which means we need to move the decimal point one place
to the right. Therefore, we rewrite the expression as

7.5 × 10−1 × 1011

7.5 × 10−1+11

7.5 × 1010

3. Find the value of (6.75 × 103) ÷ (1.5 × 109).

Solution:

Divide the decimal numbers, separately from the powers of 10.

6.75 103
× 9
1.5 10

103
4.5 × 9
10

To divide the powers of 10, subtract the exponent in the denominator from
the exponent in the numerator.

4.5 × 103−9

14
 4.5 × 10−6

4. Find the value of (2.75 × 1010) ÷ (8.0 × 108).

Solution:

Divide the decimal numbers, separately from the powers of 10.

2.75 1010
×
8.0 108

1010
0.34375 ×
108

To divide the powers of 10, subtract the exponent in the denominator from
the exponent in the numerator.

0.34375 × 1010−8

0.34375 × 102

Proper scientific notation requires one non-zero digit in front of the

decimal point, which means we need to move the decimal point one place
to the right. Therefore, we rewrite the expression as

3.4375 × 10−1 × 102

3.4375 × 10−1+2

3.4375 × 101

15
 5. Find the value of (7.5 × 104) ÷ (1.5 × 10−4).

Solution:

Divide the decimal numbers, separately from the powers of 10.

7.5 104
×
1.5 10−4

104
5 × −4
10

To divide the powers of 10, subtract the exponent in the denominator from
the exponent in the numerator.

5 × 104−(−4)

5 × 104+4

5 × 108

5.0 × 108

6. If we’re given 5.75 × 106 in scientific notation and we divide it by a

negative power of 10, will we get a larger or smaller result?

16
Solution:

Let’s pretend we’re dividing by 10−2. When we do, we get

5.75 × 106−(−2)

5.75 × 106+2

5.75 × 108

This is a larger value than 5.75 × 106, so we can say that dividing by a
negative power of 10 will give a larger number.

17
MULTIPLYING AND DIVIDING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

1. Simplify the expression.

(4.5 × 103)(1.4 × 10−5)

2.8 × 10−1

Solution:

Simplify the numerator first by multiplying the scientific notation

expressions.

(4.5 × 1.4)(103 × 10−5)

2.8 × 10−1

6.3 × 103+(−5)
2.8 × 10−1

6.3 × 10−2
2.8 × 10−1

Now divide the scientific notation.

6.3 10−2
×
2.8 10−1

2.25 × 10−2−(−1)

2.25 × 10−1

18
 2. Simplify the expression.

(7.6 × 105)(1.1 × 10−7)

5.1 × 10−3

Solution:

Simplify the numerator first by multiplying the scientific notation

expressions.

(7.6 × 1.1)(105 × 10−7)

5.1 × 10−3

8.36 × 105+(−7)
5.1 × 10−3

8.36 × 10−2
5.1 × 10−3

Now divide the scientific notation.

8.36 10−2
× −3
5.1 10

1.639 × 10−2−(−3)

1.639 × 101

3. Simplify the expression.

19
 (1.7 × 10−3)(3.4 × 10−4)
(6.3 × 10−3)(7.3 × 10−2)

Solution:

Simplify the numerator and denominator first by multiplying the scientific

notation expressions.

(1.7 × 3.4)(10−3 × 10−4)

(6.3 × 7.3)(10−3 × 10−2)

5.78 × 10−3+(−4)
45.99 × 10−3+(−2)

5.78 × 10−7
45.99 × 10−5

Now divide the scientific notation.

5.78 10−7
× −5
45.99 10

0.126 × 10−7−(−5)

0.126 × 10−2

Move the decimal point one place to the right to put the result in proper
scientific notation.

1.26 × 10−1 × 10−2

1.26 × 10−1+(−2)

20
 1.26 × 10−3

4. Simplify the expression.

(4.9 × 104)(6.4 × 10−4)

(8.2 × 10−3)(2 × 103)

Solution:

Simplify the numerator and denominator first by multiplying the scientific

notation expressions.

(4.9 × 6.4)(104 × 10−4)

(8.2 × 2)(10−3 × 103)

31.36 × 104+(−4)
16.4 × 10−3+3

31.36 × 100
16.4 × 100

Any non-zero value raised to the power of 0 is 1, so

31.36 × 1
16.4 × 1

31.36
16.4

1.912

21
 5. Simplify the expression.

(6.1 × 106)(6.8 × 10−4)

(1.1 × 10−5)(1.8 × 105)

Solution:

Simplify the numerator and denominator first by multiplying the scientific

notation expressions.

(6.1 × 6.8)(106 × 10−4)

(1.1 × 1.8)(10−5 × 105)

41.48 × 106+(−4)
1.98 × 10−5+5

41.48 × 102
1.98 × 100

Now divide the scientific notation.

41.48 102
× 0
1.98 10

20.949 × 102−0

20.949 × 102

Move the decimal point one place to the left to put the result in proper
scientific notation.

22
 2.0949 × 101 × 102

2.0949 × 101+2

2.0949 × 103

6. Danny and Deacon are working on finding the quotient below. Danny
decides to multiply out the numerator and gets 10,000 for the powers of 10
portion. Then he divides it by 0.00061 to get 16,393,442.6 or 1.63934426 × 107.
Deacon decides he wants to divide, so he divides each number by 0.00061
and gets 819,672,131 and 32.78689852. Then he multiplies those numbers to
get 2.68745 × 1010. Why are the answers different? Who is correct?

(5 × 105)(2 × 10−2)
6.1 × 10−4

Solution:

Deacon is incorrect. He should have divided just one of the numbers and
then multiplied the other number by that quotient.

23
ESTIMATING SCIENTIFIC NOTATION

1. Estimate the value of 3.65 × 10−5.

Solution:

We’ll round 3.65 up to the nearest whole number, 4, and then multiply that
by 10−5, or 0.00001.

4 × 0.00001

0.00004

2. Use scientific notation to estimate the value (5.75 × 106)(2.34 × 10−1).

Solution:

Round 5.75 to 6 and 2.34 to 2, then rewrite the expression as

(6 × 106)(2 × 10−1)

(6 × 2)(106 × 10−1)

12 × 105

24
Rewrite the answer in proper scientific notation by moving the decimal
point one place to the left.

1.2 × 101 × 105

1.2 × 106

3. Use scientific notation to estimate the value of (2.456 × 103)(1.67 × 10−7).

Solution:

Round 2.456 to 2 and 1.67 to 2, then rewrite the expression as

(2 × 103)(2 × 10−7)

(2 × 2)(103 × 10−7)

4 × 10−4

4. Use scientific notation to estimate the value of the expression.

7.152 × 102
2.91 × 102

Solution:

25
Round 7.152 to 7 and 2.91 to 3, then rewrite the expression as

7 × 102
3 × 102

7 102
×
3 102

2.333 × 1

2.333

5. Use scientific notation to estimate the value of the expression.

(6.2 × 106)(6.4 × 10−3)

(4.25 × 10−2)(2.9 × 10−3)

Solution:

Round 6.2 to 6, 6.4 to 6, 4.25 to 4, and 2.9 to 3, then rewrite the expression
as

(6 × 106)(6 × 10−3)
(4 × 10−2)(3 × 10−3)

(6 × 6)(106 × 10−3)
(4 × 3)(10−2 × 10−3)

36 × 103
12 × 10−5

26
 36 103
×
12 10−5

3 × 108

6. Use scientific notation to estimate the value of the expression.

(1.7 × 10−5)(2.6 × 102)

(3.334 × 10−3)(2.5 × 10−1)

Solution:

Round 1.7 to 2, 2.6 to 3, 3.334 to 3, and 2.5 to 3, then rewrite the expression
as

(2 × 10−5)(3 × 102)
(3 × 10−3)(3 × 10−1)

(2 × 3)(10−5 × 102)
(3 × 3)(10−3 × 10−1)

6 × 10−3
9 × 10−4

6 10−3
× −4
9 10

0.6667 × 101

6.6667

27
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