Question

If the standard notation (original number) is 0.004430 cm, what would the sign of the exponent be?

Zero
Positive
Negative

Answer 1

Negative

Explanation:

When you move the decimal place to the right, the exponent in scientific notation is negative. In other words, when you are converting a number smaller than 1 into scientific notation, the exponent will be negative. In this case, because you are moving the decimal place to the right 3 places, the new number would be 4.430 x 10⁻³ cm.

When you move the decimal place to the left, the exponent in scientific notation is positive.