Expressing 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup> in Standard Form
Standard form, also known as scientific notation, is a way of expressing numbers that are very large or very small in a more compact and convenient way. It involves writing the number as a product of a number between 1 and 10 (inclusive) and a power of 10.
Here's how to express 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup> in standard form:
-
Identify the coefficient: In this case, the coefficient is 9. It already falls between 1 and 10.
-
Identify the exponent: The exponent is -9.
-
Combine the coefficient and the exponent: The standard form of 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup> is 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup>.
Therefore, the standard form of 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup> remains the same.
Why is this important?
Expressing numbers in standard form makes it easier to:
- Compare magnitudes: It's easier to compare the sizes of numbers written in standard form. For example, it's clear that 9 x 10<sup>-9</sup> is smaller than 2 x 10<sup>-6</sup>.
- Perform calculations: Performing calculations with large or small numbers can be simplified by using standard form.
- Communicate scientific data: Standard form is widely used in scientific fields to represent extremely large or small quantities.
Examples of other numbers in standard form:
- 1,000,000 = 1 x 10<sup>6</sup>
- 0.000005 = 5 x 10<sup>-6</sup>
- 32,000,000 = 3.2 x 10<sup>7</sup>
- 0.00000000000001 = 1 x 10<sup>-14</sup>