0.0025 in scientific notation
Understand the Problem
The question is asking to convert the decimal number 0.0025 into scientific notation, which involves expressing it as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of ten.
Answer
$2.5 \times 10^{-3}$
Answer for screen readers
The scientific notation for 0.0025 is $2.5 \times 10^{-3}$.
Steps to Solve
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Identify the Base Number To convert the decimal number 0.0025 into scientific notation, we first need to express it as a number between 1 and 10. We can do this by moving the decimal point.
For 0.0025, we move the decimal point 3 places to the right, which gives us 2.5. -
Determine the Power of Ten Each time we move the decimal point to the right, we are effectively dividing by 10. Moving it 3 places means we are dividing by $10^3$. To express this in scientific notation, we need to account for this by using a negative exponent, which indicates a division.
So, we express this as:
$$ 0.0025 = 2.5 \times 10^{-3} $$ -
Final Scientific Notation The final expression we obtain is therefore the scientific notation for 0.0025:
$$ 2.5 \times 10^{-3} $$
The scientific notation for 0.0025 is $2.5 \times 10^{-3}$.
More Information
In scientific notation, the exponent indicates how many places the decimal point has moved. A negative exponent shows the number is less than 1.
Tips
- A common mistake is to forget to use a negative exponent when moving the decimal point to the right. Always remember that moving right corresponds to a negative exponent.