Using Scientific Notation

Updated September 7, 2021 | Infoplease Staff

Sometimes, especially when you are using a calculator, you may come up with a very long number. It might be a big number, like 2,890,000,000. Or it might be a small number, like 0.0000073.

Scientific notation is a way to make these numbers easier to work with. In scientific notation, you move the decimal place until you have a number between 1 and 10. Then you add a power of ten that tells how many places you moved the decimal.

In scientific notation, 2,890,000,000 becomes 2.89 x 10⁹. How?

• Remember that any whole number can be written with a decimal point. For example: 2,890,000,000 = 2,890,000,000.0
• Now, move the decimal place until you have a number between 1 and 10. If you keep moving the decimal point to the left in 2,890,000,000 you will get 2.89.
• Next, count how many places you moved the decimal point. You had to move it 9 places to the left to change 2,890,000,000 to 2.89. You can show that you moved it 9 places to the left by noting that the number should be multiplied by 10⁹.

2.89 x 10⁹ = 2.89 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 x 10
2.89 x 10⁹ = 2,890,000,000

Scientific notation can be used to turn 0.0000073 into 7.3 x 10^-6.

• First, move the decimal place until you have a number between 1 and 10. If you keep moving the decimal point to the right in 0.0000073 you will get 7.3.
• Next, count how many places you moved the decimal point. You had to move it 6 places to the right to change 0.0000073 to 7.3. You can show that you moved it 6 places to the right by noting that the number should be multiplied by 10^-6.

7.3 x 10^-6 = 0.0000073

Remember: in a power of ten, the exponent—the small number above and to the right of the 10—tells which way you moved the decimal point.

• A power of ten with a positive exponent, such as 10⁵, means the decimal was moved to the left.
• A power of ten with a negative exponent, such as 10^-5, means the decimal was moved to the right.