Final answer:
Scientific notation with a negative exponent denotes a value less than 1. The negative exponent indicates division by a power of 10. A coefficient paired with 10 raised to the negative exponent completes the format for small decimal numbers.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a number is written in scientific notation with a negative exponent, it indicates a value that is less than 1. This happens because the negative exponent means the number is being divided by a power of 10 rather than multiplied. For example, the number 0.004 can be written as 4 × 10-3, where the exponent is -3 because there are three places the decimal must move to the right to get back to the standard form, which in this case is a small number less than one.
In scientific notation, the format consists of a coefficient (usually between 1 and 10) and 10 raised to an exponent. If this exponent is negative, then the original number is a small decimal. As the power of ten with a negative exponent increases (becomes less negative), the value of the coefficient decreases, leading to a smaller overall value.