To put a number into scientific notation, we multiply or divide the
number by 10 over and over until we have a number between 1 and 10. But
we can't just change a number so we have to account for what we did by
describing how many times we multiplied or divided with exponents.
Each
time we multiply by 10 the decimal moves 1 place to the right. Each
time we divide by 10 the decimal moves 1 place to the left. The
exponent we use will describe the number of times we moved the decimal
to the right or left. The exponent will be positive or negative to
describe the direction we need to move the decimal to represent our
original number.
I know... that sounds confusing, but it's really easy! Let's do yours...
0.0052
Now we need to move the decimal to get a number between 1 and 10. So we move the decimal 3 places to the right to get 5.2
Now
we have to describe how to get to the original number with the
exponents. We moved the decimal 3 places right so to get our number
back we would have to move it back 3 places to the left so negative
exponent 3... Here's how we represent it..
5.2 x 10^-3
So what that says is if we take 5.2 and divide it by 10 three times,we will get our original number.
