The Lesson
A number can be written in scientific notation. Imagine we wanted to write 123,000 in scientific notation.How to Convert a Number to Scientific Notation
Converting a number to scientific notation is easy.Question
What is 123,000 in scientific notation?Step-by-Step:
1
Place a decimal point to the right of the first digit of the number. In our example, the first digit of 123,000 is 1:
2
Ignore the 0s after the last non-0 digit.
1.23 will appear in the answer.
3
Count how many digits there are after the first digit. (Don't ignore the 0s after the last non-0 digit this time).
There are 5 digits after the first digit.
4
Make the answer to Step 3 (5) the exponent of a power of 10.
105 will appear in the answer.
5
The number in scientific notation will consist of the number between 1 and 10 found in Step 2 (1.23) multiplying the power of 10 found in Step 4 (105).