What is scientific notation and why is it used?

Answer 1

Scientific notation is a short way to put a lot of zeros to a number without having to write them all out. Like 0.0000000000000000000067 (there are 20 zeros to the right of the decimal point) is 67.0 X 10^-22. By multiplying 67 by ten divided by ten 22 times (A negative exponent is division instead of multiplication).

You move the decimal point over 22 times so there is no reason to write all the zeros anymore. On the contrary, if you want to make a big number more simple like 6700000000000000000000.0 (there are 20 zeros to the left of the decimal point) you write 67.0 X 10^22 , Which is 67 times 10 times 10 22 times. Whenever you multiply a number by ten you move the decimal point to the left, if you divide by ten, you move the decimal to the left. You kind of need to understand exponents, if you don't already, before you really get the point of needing scientific notation.

The reason we use it is to make larger numbers easier to write down in a shorter way.

Answer 2

Scientific notation is a way of writing numbers that accommodates values too large or small to be conveniently written in standard decimal notation.