Standard Form & Units of measurement

Introduction to Standard Form

• Standard form is a method of representing very large or small numbers consistently.

• Known as scientific notation.

• Important for clarity in mathematical representation.

• The focus will be on conversion, calculation, and base units.

Importance of Base Unit Conversion

• All values need conversion to base units for calculator compatibility.

• Example: "15mΩ" must be converted to base unit "Ω" (ohms).

• Metric Prefix Scale: SI prefixes allow for decimal multiples and subdivisions of SI units (e.g., multiplying or dividing by 10, 100, 1000).

Writing Numbers in Standard Form

• To convert to standard form:

  • Identify a number between 1 and 10.

  • Determine how many times to multiply this number by 10 to return to the original number.

Example of Standard Form Conversion

• Example: 5,000 in standard form is written as 5 x 10³

• Steps:

  1. Identify the number as between 1 and 10.

  2. Multiply by 10 (the appropriate power) based on the number scale (1000s, etc).

  3. Zeros at the end of the number can be omitted.

Additional Practice - Exam Questions

• Exam Question: Convert the number 269.54 into standard form.