A real number X expressed in scientific notation has the format
X = a × 10k, where 1 £ |a| < 10 and k is an integer
Example:
1,201,000,000,000 = 1.201 × 1012
0.00000000000035 = 3.5 × 10-13
-1345.89 = -1.34589 × 10-3
To convert a real number from standard notation to scientific notation
(a × 10k), the following procedure is useful:
(1) If the real number is not already in decimal form, convert it to a decimal number, terminating, repeating or otherwise. Note the location of the decimal point.
(2) Determine the first nonzero digit in the number. Place a marker immediately after this digit.
(3) Starting at the marker, count the number of places to the decimal point. If the movement is to the right, the count is considered to be positive; if the movement is to the left, the count is considered negative. If no movement is need, the count is zero.
(4) The marker indicates the location of the decimal point in the factor a. The count represents the exponent k to be used as the power of 10.
