EXPRESSING NUMBERS IN STANDARD FORM

The standard form or the scientific notation is a special way of writing very large number or very small numbers. When a number is expressed in standard form, its meaning or value does not change.

The number is written in two parts which give the original number when multiplied. One of the numbers must be between 1 and 10 and the other is a power of ten.

EXPRESSING VERY BIG NUMBERS IN STANDARD NOTATION

Place a decimal point just after the first digit, followed by × 10 to the power the number of places moved from the decimal point to the last digit. The movement is from the left to the right. The power of ten must be positive.

Example

Write down each of the following numbers in standard form.

1. 4 500

2. 67 413

3. 300 000 000

Solution

1. 4.5×10^3

2. 6.7413×10^4

3. 3.0×10^8