6.82 x 109. The mass of an electron is approximately 0·00000000000000000000000000000091 kg. This can be written in scie
Scientific notation We can use scientific notation to write very large or very small numbers in a concise way. It is also called standard notation. For example:
The population of the Earth in May 2010 was approximately 6 820 000 000. This can be written in scientific notation as:
6.82 x 109
The mass of an electron is approximately 0·00000000000000000000000000000091 kg. This can be written in scientific notation as:
9.1 x 10 -31 kg Numbers written in scientific notation:
have a number between 1 and 10 – the decimal point is after the first significant digit
that are multiplied by a power of 10 – the power is equal to the number of places the decimal point has changed.
If the original decimal number is bigger than 10, the power is a positive number. If the original decimal number is between 1 and 10, the power will be zero. If the original decimal is smaller than 1, the power is a negative number. The decimal point goes after the 6. The original number was bigger than 1 so the power is +14.
657 000 000 000 000 is written as:
6.57 x 1014 There are 14 digits between where the decimal point was and where it has been put.