Scientific Notation

1. Count how many places you move left/right to make the decimal one step to the right of c. The number of places is n.
2. If you move to the left, n is positive.
3. If you move to the right, n is negative.

2,345,643 = 2.35 x 10⁶

Move to the left six steps; rounded two decimal places

0.00008765 = 8.77 x 10^-5

Move to the right five steps; rounded two decimal places

Addition and Subtraction

1. Convert all numbers to the same power of 10.
2. If you go to a larger power of ten, move the decimal to the left.
3. If you go to a smaller power of ten, move the decimal to the right.
4. Add/subtract.

2.35 x 10⁶ + 8.77 x 10⁵          2.35 x 10 ⁶ + 0.877 x 10⁶ = 3.227 x 10⁶

Multiplication and Division

1. Multiply/Divide the digits normally.
2. If multiplying, add the exponents of 10.
3. If dividing, subtract the exponents of 10.

2.35 x 10⁶ * 8.77 x 10⁵ = 20.6095 x 10¹¹ = 2.06095 x 10¹²

2.35 x 10⁶ ÷ 8.77 x 10³ = 0.267959 x 10³ = 2.67959 x 10²