ANSWER: The first thing to learn is how to convert numbers back and forth between scientific notation and ordinary decimal notation. The expression "10n", where n is a whole number, simply means "10 raised to the nth power," or in other words, a number gotten by using 10 as a factor n times:
105 = 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 100,000 (5 zeros)
108 = 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 100,000,000 (8 zeros)
Notice that the number of zeros in the ordinary decimal expression is exactly equal to the power to which 10 is raised.
If the number is expressed in words, first write it down as an ordinary decimal number and then convert. Thus, "ten million" becomes 10,000,000. There are seven zeros, so in powers of ten notation ten million is written 107.
A number which is some power of 1/10 can also be expressed easily in scientific notation. By definition,
1/10 = 10-1 ("ten to the minus one power")
More generally, the expression "10-n" (where n is a whole number) means ( 1/10 )n. Thus
10-3 = ( 1 / 10 )3 = 1 / ( 10 x 10 x 10) = 1/1000
10-8 = ( 1 / 10 )8 = 1/100,000,000
Scientific notation was invented to help scientists (and science students!)deal with very large and very small numbers, without getting lost in all the zeros. Now answer the following on a separate sheet of paper and check your answers by clicking on "Answers":
Step-by-step explanation: