Great Posts

The below posts by Caitlinishere, k-blog-kelley, and marielle101 are wonderful.

Exponents and Scientific Notation

You probably are wondering how to do exponents and scientific notation. Well, you are in the right place.

EXPONENTS
So say you have 2 to the 3rd power. The answer is 8. Now you probably are wondering how to solve that. So let me explain that to you.

ATTENTION: DO NOT DO 2 x 3 = 6.

This the right way to do it!

1. Find out what the base and exponent is.
   
   Example 2=base and 3=exponent
   
2. You need to think in your head what 2 multiplied 3 times is.
   
   Example 2 x 2 x 2
   
3. Solve the equation.
   
   Example 2 x 2 x 2 = 8
   
   

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION
Scientific notation is a way of writing a shorter version of a really big number. Here's an example.

The closest star to the Sun is the Alpha Centauri. It is 43,000,000,000,000 km away. When I write it in scientific notation which is 4.3 x 10 to the 13 power, it is much easier than to write it as 43,000,000,000,000.

Here's how I got the answer.

1. You always put the decimal point after the first number.
   
   Example 4.3
   
2. Then count how many decimal spots you move from the right until you get to the decimal point.
   
   Example For 43,000,000,000,000, I counted 13 spots.
   
3. Finally, you will write the number that you put the decimal point between then you would put down 10 to the 13 power.
   
   Example 4.3 x 10 to the 13 power

Down below is a link that you can look at to get more information about the scientific notation!

http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/sci-note.html

K - Blog

Exponents

What is an exponent? How do you solve one? Which parts which? Some people might be pondering these questions. If you're one of those people, don't get scared exponents are easy and I'm here to help you understand. Just call the Exponent Queen.

Exponent: A number that tells you how many times to multiply another number.

A start to all those questions would probably be to explain to you the parts of an exponent. You might see something that looks like this: 52. That simply says five to the second power. The number to the left (in this case the 5) is the base. The number to the top right (in this case the 2) is the exponent.

Now that you know the parts of an exponent your probably want to know how to solve it, so here are the steps one by one.

Example: 34

Step 1: Find out what the exponent says. (In this case it says three to the fourth power).

Step 2: Locate your base and exponent. (This problems base is 3 and its exponent is 4).

Step 3: Multiply your base by itself however many times your exponent is. (In our situation you would solve the problem like this: 3*3*3*3=81. Still not sure how I got that answer? Well let me break the problem down. 3*3=9, That's is two 3's. Then, 9*3=27, That's three 3's. Lastly, 27*3= 81, That's four 3's. That's your answer 81).

Step 4: You have your answer! (Ours is 81).

Why do I need to know exponents? Well, one reason is it can help you in other subjects such as science. For example, the scientific notation. You need to know exponents for this to help you to convert the numbers.

Still Need Help? Go to:

http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/math/exp/LExp.html

Scientific Notation! Go to:

http://www.avalon.net/~bstuder/sci_notation.html

Marielle101

If anyone ever asks you, what's two to the third power, and you have no idea what they are talking about, then you might want to read this. You can look at this well, whenever you want to, I guess, but especially when you need help or want to touch up on your math. I think the easiest way to teach exponents is to give an example and explain. Anyway, here goes:

In order to know scientific notation, you will have to know how to do exponents.

Here is your example: Four to the second power

If you have never done this before, you would probably guess 8. But that is not the correct answer. Four to the second power means that you multiply four by itself 2 times. In other words, it would be 4 times 4. That would give you answer of 16. For this problem, 4 would be the base, and 2 would be the exponent. The way I remember this is that the base is the bottom number, just like the base of a statue or microscope.
So, the big idea is that you are multiplying the base number by itself the number of times of the exponent.

• Why do you need to know this?

Well, exponents are used to take the place of really big or small numbers.

• Why is it called Scientific Notation?

The reason for this is exponents are often used in science. They are used for numbers such as the weight of a proton, or the speed of light.

That is basically all of what you should know about scientific notation and exponents. But, I also found a great site for this-

http://www.math.com/school/subject2/lessons/S2U2L2GL.html

This is a great website for more help that explains step by step, and in depth on how exponents work. Enjoy!