lOMoARcPSD|38873184
Name: saima Bhayat Date:
Student Exploration: Unit Conversions 2 –
Scientific Notation and Significant Digits
[Note to teachers and students: This lesson is designed to be a follow-up to the Unit Conversions Student
Exploration sheet. The same Gizmo is used for both activities.]
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: resolution, scientific notation, significant digits
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
Philip measures a room using his feet. (His feet are each about a foot long.) He estimates the room measures
about ten and a half feet by thirteen and a half feet. He calculates the room’s area to be: 10.5’ × 13.5’ = 141.75
ft2.
1. Which do you think is the best description of the area of the room? Highlight your choice.
A. The room’s area is exactly 141.75 ft2. B. The room’s area is about 142 ft2.
2. Explain your choice: it's necessary to round the number to make it easier to use and
understand. Also because the unit of measurement was phillips foot,
which is an estimate of the room so he couldn't have measured the
room accurately.
Gizmo Warm-up
When scientists report a value, they have to take several things into consideration. Sometimes values are very
large or small. In this case, scientists can use shorthand called scientific notation to report the value.
Scientists also must consider how precise their value is. The precision of a measurement can be shown by the
number of significant digits in the value.
To begin, check that the Burj Khalifa question is shown. Drag the three tiles shown below to determine the
tower’s height in micrometers. The answer is given in scientific notation.
1. The Burj Khalifa is 828,000,000 micrometers tall. How is this value written in scientific notation in the
Gizmo™? 8.28 x 10^8 micrometers
2. In a value, any non-zero digit is considered a significant digit. (Zeroes may or may not be significant.)
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What is the minimum number of significant digits in 828,000,000? 3 are sig figs
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A: ● Select Metric units only and Distance from the
Conversion menu. Make sure Show result is off.
Scientific notation ● Click Next until you reach the question about
Proxima Centauri.
Question: How can you convert numbers into and out of scientific notation?
1. Observe: Some of the problems in this Gizmo involve very small or very large quantities. Look at the
bottom three Unit Conversion Tiles. What do you notice in the numerator?
the numerators are a product of a number and power of 10
The numbers in the numerators are written in scientific notation. In scientific notation, a number is
converted to the product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10. For example, 1,000,000 is
written as 1.0 • 106. The first part of this number is called the coefficient. The second part is called the base.
2. Convert: To convert a number written in scientific notation into a standard number, first look at the exponent
on the base. If it is positive, move the decimal point on the coefficient to the right as many times as the
exponent indicates, as shown below:
Look at exponent Count digits Move decimal point Standard form
1 234 567
8.35 × 107 8.3 500 000 83 500 000.0 83,500,000
Practice converting the two numbers below into standard form:
1.0 • 109 = 1,000,000,000 6.72 • 1012 = 6,720,000,000,000
You can perform this process in reverse to convert numbers in standard form into scientific notation. The
number of times you move the decimal point to the left will be equal to the exponent on your base.
Remember there should be only one digit to the left of the decimal point in scientific notation.
Place new decimal Scientific
Standard form Count digits
point notation
123 456
3,700,000 3.700 000 3.700 000 3.7 × 106
Practice this with the two numbers below:
8,200,000 = 8.2 x 10^6 50,880,000,000,000 = 5.088 x 10^13
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Downloaded by zyzzyzzzy zzx ()
Name: saima Bhayat Date:
Student Exploration: Unit Conversions 2 –
Scientific Notation and Significant Digits
[Note to teachers and students: This lesson is designed to be a follow-up to the Unit Conversions Student
Exploration sheet. The same Gizmo is used for both activities.]
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: resolution, scientific notation, significant digits
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
Philip measures a room using his feet. (His feet are each about a foot long.) He estimates the room measures
about ten and a half feet by thirteen and a half feet. He calculates the room’s area to be: 10.5’ × 13.5’ = 141.75
ft2.
1. Which do you think is the best description of the area of the room? Highlight your choice.
A. The room’s area is exactly 141.75 ft2. B. The room’s area is about 142 ft2.
2. Explain your choice: it's necessary to round the number to make it easier to use and
understand. Also because the unit of measurement was phillips foot,
which is an estimate of the room so he couldn't have measured the
room accurately.
Gizmo Warm-up
When scientists report a value, they have to take several things into consideration. Sometimes values are very
large or small. In this case, scientists can use shorthand called scientific notation to report the value.
Scientists also must consider how precise their value is. The precision of a measurement can be shown by the
number of significant digits in the value.
To begin, check that the Burj Khalifa question is shown. Drag the three tiles shown below to determine the
tower’s height in micrometers. The answer is given in scientific notation.
1. The Burj Khalifa is 828,000,000 micrometers tall. How is this value written in scientific notation in the
Gizmo™? 8.28 x 10^8 micrometers
2. In a value, any non-zero digit is considered a significant digit. (Zeroes may or may not be significant.)
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Downloaded by zyzzyzzzy zzx ()
, lOMoARcPSD|38873184
What is the minimum number of significant digits in 828,000,000? 3 are sig figs
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A: ● Select Metric units only and Distance from the
Conversion menu. Make sure Show result is off.
Scientific notation ● Click Next until you reach the question about
Proxima Centauri.
Question: How can you convert numbers into and out of scientific notation?
1. Observe: Some of the problems in this Gizmo involve very small or very large quantities. Look at the
bottom three Unit Conversion Tiles. What do you notice in the numerator?
the numerators are a product of a number and power of 10
The numbers in the numerators are written in scientific notation. In scientific notation, a number is
converted to the product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10. For example, 1,000,000 is
written as 1.0 • 106. The first part of this number is called the coefficient. The second part is called the base.
2. Convert: To convert a number written in scientific notation into a standard number, first look at the exponent
on the base. If it is positive, move the decimal point on the coefficient to the right as many times as the
exponent indicates, as shown below:
Look at exponent Count digits Move decimal point Standard form
1 234 567
8.35 × 107 8.3 500 000 83 500 000.0 83,500,000
Practice converting the two numbers below into standard form:
1.0 • 109 = 1,000,000,000 6.72 • 1012 = 6,720,000,000,000
You can perform this process in reverse to convert numbers in standard form into scientific notation. The
number of times you move the decimal point to the left will be equal to the exponent on your base.
Remember there should be only one digit to the left of the decimal point in scientific notation.
Place new decimal Scientific
Standard form Count digits
point notation
123 456
3,700,000 3.700 000 3.700 000 3.7 × 106
Practice this with the two numbers below:
8,200,000 = 8.2 x 10^6 50,880,000,000,000 = 5.088 x 10^13
Reproduction for educational use only. Public sharing or posting prohibited. © 2020 ExploreLearning™ All rights reserved
Downloaded by zyzzyzzzy zzx ()
