Scientific Notation and Standard Form

A number written in scientific notation has two numbers that are multiplied.

a) The first number is greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10.
b) The second number is a power of 10 in scientific notation

To write a number in scientific notation:

a) For the first number: Put the decimal after the first digit and drop the zeros.

b) For the second number (which is the exponent of 10): Find the power of 10 by counting the number of places from the decimal point to the end of the number

If we move the decimal point towards left, the power of 10 is positive and if we move the decimal point towards right, the power of 10 is negative

To write a number in the standard form, look at the power of 10 and move the decimal point that number of places (that is the power of 10) to the right.
For e.g. For the number 2.1 x 10⁵ move the decimal point 5 places to the right

Use zeros as placeholders.
E.g. 2.1 x 10⁵ will be written as 210000

To compare two numbers in scientific notation, first compare the powers of 10. The number with the greater power of 10 is greater

If the powers of 10 are the same, compare the coefficients. The number with the greater coefficient is greater