Scientific Notation – Writing
Scientific notation writes any number as a coefficient between 1 and 10 times a power of 10.
This is a free explanation of Scientific Notation – Writing — a preview, not the full interactive lesson. The lesson, practice, quizzes, and AI Tutor are inside the app.
Every number in scientific notation has the form a × 10ⁿ. The coefficient a is always a number between 1 and 10 (like 4.5, 1.7, 9.3), and 10ⁿ is a power of 10 whose exponent tells you how far and which way the decimal shifted.
To write a number in scientific notation, move the decimal point until you have a number between 1 and 10, then count how many places you moved — that count becomes the exponent. Moving left (a large number) gives a positive exponent; moving right (a small decimal) gives a negative exponent.
MathPath AI’s convention: integer coefficients keep a decimal, so a whole-number coefficient is written like 4.5 × 10⁴ and an integer like 3 is written 3.0 × 10⁵.
Worked example
Write 45,000 in scientific notation.
- Move the decimal left until the number is between 1 and 10: 45,000 → 4.5.
- Count the moves: 4 places left → a positive exponent of 4.
- Write it: 45,000 = 4.5 × 10⁴.
- Check: 4.5 × 10,000 = 45,000.
4.5 × 10⁴
On the test: Scientific notation appears on the GED & HiSET in science and data problems.
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- Math-fact flashcards — Quick drills for addition, multiplication, perfect squares, and square roots.
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