Okay let me introduce you to Scientific Notation were we're going to do a couple of examples,
what is Scientific Notation?
Well it's a way to represent very large numbers in a more kind of compact way with very, very
small numbers in a compact way, you know sometimes a large number, have lots of zeros.
Scientific Notation is the way to go and if it's got too many decimal places, and it's
really tiny, then Scientific Notation is the way t go also.
So we've got a couple of examples; The first one is only 3 digits, it's a normal number
and we're going to transform it into Scientific Notation.
So we're working with a simply number 251, so let's write that just for learning purposes
into Scientific Notation.
Now what's the first step;
The first step is, we want to write a digit first, move the decimal place in such a way
that, that turns into a number that is between less than 10, or greater than and equal to
positive 1.
So it's got to be a digit that's in there, so to do that I'm going to turn this number
251.... and I'm going to move the decimal place which we can't see, essentially it's
right here, we don't usually write it, but if you have a whole number, the decimal place
is usually there, we move it this way until we get a digit between 10 and 1 as we've indicated.
so I'm going to move it to the left, so one, two.
So the new decimal place goes there, so essentially the number is now 2.51, is that less than
10 or equal to 1?
Yes it is 2.51.
Now that number is smaller than 251 obviously, so we need to balance it.
So we need to multiply it by...and this is the thing about Scientific Notation, we multiply
by 10 to some exponent power up there.
Now what's the exponent power?
Very easy, we moved to the left did we not, how many places did we move to the left, we
moved 2 places did we not, that way, so that means up here we arrive to the power of 2,
so that's Scientific Notation 2.51 x 10 to the power of 2 is 251, so let me just write
it again; 2.51 x 10 to the power of 2.
Okay now you maybe thinking, that's only a 3 digit number, what happens when you have
as you said earlier a very large number, lots of zeros and you want to make it more compact
in Scientific Notation.
Well let's do an example like that;
This example is (Inaudible 0:02:47.5) is in the millions, so it's relatively large, it's
6,358,000, let's make that into Scientific Notation.
So what's the first thing you want to do?
Well the first thing you want to do like we did here, is come up with a digit or a number
that is between less than 10 and greater than or equal to 1.
So that means we're going to move the decimal place from here, all the way to there so let
me just write it out again.
So I'm just going to mark it out.
We're going to go from here and here, and I'm going to move it all the way to here,
so let's move it now.
Let's count, we're moving to the left again, one, two, three, four, five, six, decimal
point goes right over there, so essentially this number, 358 is now into 6.358, s that
between, greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10?
Yes it is 6.358, then we multiply by 10, to the power of what?
Well we move how many places to the left?...
count it again, one, two, three, four, five, six places, so that means up here, you're
right 6.
So now this is essentially the same number as that written in Scientific Notation...
and there you go thanks for watching.