Understanding Scientific Notation

Scientific notation expresses numbers as a product of a number between 1 and 10 (the coefficient) and a power of 10.

Steps

1. Move the decimal point: To get a number between 1 and 10, move the decimal point one place to the left: 4.50 becomes 4.5

2. Count the decimal places: You moved the decimal one place to the left.

3. Power of 10: Since you moved the decimal to the *left*, the power of 10 is positive. In this case, it's 10¹ (because you moved the decimal one place).

4. Combine the parts: 4.50 in scientific notation is 4.5 x 10¹