Chapter 2.2, Problem 24SSC

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The reason due to which the scientific notation makes it easier to work with very large or very small numbers needs to be defined.

Concept introduction:

The form of expressing too big or too small numbers into a convenient decimal form is known as Scientific notation.

Answer to Problem 24SSC

Scientific notation makes it easier to read very small or very large number due to its exponent and power.

Explanation of Solution

Scientific notation is a mathematical expression. The belief is that it is easier to read one exponent, instead of counting many zeroes in a number. Therefore, numbers that are either very small such as 0.0000045 or numbers that are very big such as 86, 500, 000, 000, 000 can easily be written in scientific notation where place values are expressed as a power of 10.

So, it is easier to read a small number as $6.87\times {10}^{-6}$ instead of 0.00000687 and a big number as $6.85\times {10}^{-11}$ instead of $685,000,000,000$.

Conclusion

Thus, the reading of very large or very small number is easier in scientific notation due to its exponent and power.