1. Move the decimal point to the right until you have a number between 1 and 10. In this case, you need to move it three places to the right: 1.20

2. Count how many places you moved the decimal. We moved it three places to the right.

3. Multiply the new number by 10 raised to the power of the number of places you moved the decimal, with a negative exponent if you moved it to the right.

Since we moved the decimal three places to the right, the exponent is -3.

Therefore, 0.00120 in scientific notation is 1.20 x 10⁻³.