It would be extremely inconvenient, inefficient, cumbersome, and annoying ( if even possible ) to make measurements of submicroscopic life forms and cross-continental terrain with the same instruments. Scientific notation provides us with a condensed method of expressing both large and small quantities alike. In addition to convenience and practicality, scientific notation reduces the chances of careless mistakes being made when recording numbers. Fortunately, the mathematics involved is not difficult. We must first determine how many significant digits will be used to express a given quantity. Next, we allow the first significant digit in our expression to be followed by a period. Finally we must use an appropriate power-of-ten number as a multiplicand within our expression. Most commonly, numbers are rounded to three significant figures for convenience, but this practice is not set in stone.
Q: How must the number 0.000586 be expressed using scientific notation?
A: 5.86 x 10-4
Q: How is the number 3,780,246 expressed using scientific notation?
A: 3.78 x 106
Q: How should the number 8.76 x 10-3 be expanded to express this number’s true value?
A: 0.00876
Q: How is the number 7.55 x 107 expressed when expanded?
A: 75,500,000
RENAISSANCE PHYSICS 