Standard form · Grade 8
In Grade 8 you learn: writing large and small numbers in standard form.
Standard form (scientific notation) writes very large and very small numbers as a number from 1 to 10 multiplied by a power of 10, like 3 × 10^8 m/s for the speed of light. It makes such numbers easy to read, compare and calculate with.
Key facts
- Standard form is A × 10^n where 1 ≤ A < 10 and n is a whole number.
- Large numbers have a positive power: 45,000 = 4.5 × 10^4.
- Small numbers have a negative power: 0.00032 = 3.2 × 10^(−4).
- Compare: the bigger power of 10 wins; if the powers match, compare A.
- Add or subtract: change to ordinary numbers (or the same power) first.