How do I make a decimal notation number into scientific notation?

Question

so say I have the number 4,400 how do I put that into scientific notation?

Answer 1

Great question! So right now you have the number 4400.0

With any integer, you always have an implied decimal point at its right end.

To have scientific notation, you want to have the decimal between your first and second numbers on the left.  So if you move your decimal point left 3 times, you have 4.4000, but we don't have our 10^(exponent) shown.  But, this is the easy part! :) Since we moved our decimal place 3 times, we can say we have 4.4*10^3

 

Make sense? I hope so! Try plugging that back into your calculator.  You will get 4400!

Answer 2

Amelia,

 

When converting a number to scientific notation we have to look at two things.

1) how many decimal places will the decimal point move so that there is only one digit to the left of the decimal point?

2) will the decimal point be moved left or right?

 

Let's begin with 4400

 

There is an "assumed" decimal point after the 2nd 0

 

4400.

 

We will have to move the decimal point to the left, 3 places in order to have a number with only 1 digit to the left of the decimal point.

 

So we'd have 4.4 x 10³

 

The exponent 3 indicates that we moved the decimal point 3 spaces.  The fact that it's +3 shows that we moved the decimal point to the left.  (Had we moved the decimal point 3 spaces to the right, the exponent would be -3.)