Power of 10
The Power of 10 refers to the number of times 10 is multiplied by itself (this is usually found by the exponent next to the 10)
is the same at 10 × 1
is the same as 10 × 10 = 100
is the same as 10 × 10 × 10= 1000
A trick for positive exponents such as
and so on is the use the exponent number as a reference to the number of zeros that will be placed behind the 1.
= 100, and as you can see there are 2 zeros after the 1 in the 100, same as the 2 in the exponent.
The inverse is the same:
is the same as 10 ×0.1 =1
is the same as 10 × 0.1 × 0.1 = 0.10
is the same as 10 × 0.1 × 0.1 × 0.1 = 0.010
Another trick that will help with problems regarding the power of 10 is counting decimal places. This is mainly used for negative exponents.The picture attached provides a clearer explanation, but essentially, the exponent describes by how much the decimal place will move. In
, the decimal place in 10.0 (this is a different way to write 10) will move forward twice, leaving you with 0.1.
The only exception to these rules in
, which will always be 1. Any number raised by the power of 0 will equal 1.
To answer this question, you will need to multiply 3 by one of the power of 10.
For 300, that will equal 3 ×
.
Use these rules to find the rest of the answers.