UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS MARINE CORPS COMMUNICATION-ELECTRONICS SCHOOL TRAINING COMMAND BOX 788251 TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA

92278

STUDENT HANDOUT
ENGINEERING NOTATION BE.01.03 BASIC ELECTRONICS COURSE M092721 REVISED 08/14/2008

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LESSON PURPOSE: The purpose of this period of instruction is to introduce the students to the concepts of both engineering and scientific notation. The information contained in this lesson will be utilized by the students throughout BEC to enable the students to calculate and determine the correct quantities necessary for the course. STUDENT INFORMATION: In this lesson you are going to learn about Engineering Notation. You will accomplish this by learning the different components of a number in engineering notation, learning how to convert numbers into engineering notation and learning how to mathematically combine numbers in engineering notation. The purpose of this lesson is to ensure that you can use engineering notation to simplify the management of very large or very small numbers in calculations. STUDENT HANDOUT PRESENTATION: I. ENGINEERING NOTATION: You have all probably seen some type of engineering notation during your lifetime. In the electronics world engineering notation is used as a shorthand method of expressing values. A. Here are some examples for starters: 200 Gigabytes (200,000,000,000 Bytes) 300 kilometers (300,000 meters) 25 milligrams (0.025 grams) 107.7 Megahertz (107,700,000 Hertz) Essentially, notations are used to make very large or very small numbers easier to work with. B. Scientific Notation: Scientific Notation is a method similar to engineering notation. It uses positive or negative powers of ten to make numbers easier to work with. 1. Scientific Notation is based upon powers of the base number 10. Everyday numbers have the exponent multiplied by ten to the power of zero, which has a value equal to one.

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a. Example: The number 135,000,000,000 in scientific notation is written as 1.35 x 1011. (1) The first number, 1.35, is called the coefficient (A coefficient is simply a factor). It must be greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10. (2) The second number is the exponent. The multiple of ten is always written in exponent form. In the number 1.35 x 1011, the number 11 is referred to as the exponent or power of ten. So...

135,000,000,000 equals 1.35 x 1011

2. Conditions for Scientific Notation: a. In order for a number to be in correct scientific notation, the following conditions must be true: (1) The coefficient must be greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10. (2) The base must be 10. (3) The exponent must show the number of decimal places that the decimal needs to be moved to change the number to standard notation. A negative exponent means that the decimal is moved to the left when changing to standard notation. 3. To convert a number to Scientific Notation: a. First you will convert a number GREATER than one. (1) Move the decimal point left until the coefficient is between one and ten. In

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the number 135,000,000,000 the coefficient will be 1.35.

1.35000000000
(2) To find the exponent, count the number of spaces moved from the old decimal place to the new decimal place. In the number 135,000,000,000 there are eleven places. Add the number of places the decimal point moved to the exponent (zero in this case):

1.35 x 1011
(3) Numbers larger than one will have a POSITIVE exponent. When moving the decimal point LEFT, ADD the number of places to the exponent. b. Next you will convert a number LESS than one. (1) Move the decimal to the right until there is a whole number greater than or equal to one -- but less than ten. Drop the extra zeros to the left. In the number .000000254 the coefficient will be 2.54

0000002.54
(2) To find the exponent, count the number of positions from the old decimal place to the new decimal place. In the number . 000000254 there are seven places. Subtract the number of places the decimal point moved from the exponent (zero in this case). As a result, you will then write 0.000000254 as:

2.54 x 10-7
(3) Numbers less than one will have a NEGATIVE exponent. When moving the decimal

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point RIGHT, SUBTRACT those places from the exponent. 4. To reiterate: Each time the decimal point is moved one place, the exponent will increase or decrease by one, dependent upon the direction moved. The rule "LEFT ADD RIGHT SUBTRACT" (LARS) is an acronym that will help us to remember this rule.

L A R S
E F T D D I G H T U B T R A C T

a. When moving the decimal point left, the exponent becomes more positive. b. When moving the decimal point right, the exponent becomes more negative. 5. Scientific Notation Practice Problems: 2,000,000 = 0.0078 = 96,300,000,000 = 0.00005 = 32,000,000 = ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________ ______________

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0.0000000000127 =

______________

C. Engineering Notation is very similar to scientific notation. The difference is that the exponents will ALWAYS be moved in increments of three -- and the coefficient is greater than or equal to one and less than 1,000. Here is an example: 1. Start with the number, 121,340,000. Move the decimal point to the left to get the coefficient within the specified range (greater than or equal to one and less than 1,000). This number is 121.340000. Drop the extra zeros and add the number of places the decimal point was moved to the exponent. In this case, six -- resulting in 121.34 x 106. Remember, the decimal point is moved THREE places at a time. 2. Engineering Notation Practice Problems: 1,200,000 = 3,700 = 931,890 = 0.000003 = 0.00456 = _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________

3. Characters are used in engineering notation to represent the different powers of ten.

a. Engineering Notation Chart:

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Tera (T) Giga (G) Mega (M) Kilo (k) Milli (m) Micro ( ) Nano (n) Pico (p)

trillion times billion times million times thousand times Unity thousandth of millionth of billionth of trillionth of

1012 109 106 103 100 10-3 10-6 10-9 10-12

1,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,000,000 1,000 1 .001 .000001 .000000001 .000000000001

1,001,001,001,000.001001001001
T G M k m n p
b. In electronics, you will primarily work with nine different exponents of the powers of ten: ten to the zero power up to ten to the 12th, and for fractional numbers, down to the negative 12th power. Remember, anything raised to a power of zero is equal to 1. If the coefficient is between 1 and 1000 with no power of ten indicated, assume that the unwritten power of ten with an exponent of zero is there. The words that represent each of the powers are used to simplify these powers even more. These words are abbreviated, with a specific symbol used to represent them. Keep in mind that the letter representing the power of ten is part of the number, not a unit of measure. For example, 12k apples is equal to twelve thousand apples.

4. More Engineering Notation Practice Problems:

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Student Instructions: Convert the numbers to proper engineering notation. Include the unit of measure in your answer. 0.0000279 baseball mitts 0.789k golf tees 3,530k soccer balls 6,890M bytes 0.0523 books 0.00045 sea sponges 7,089 Diet Cokes 89,432 French fries = = = = = = = = _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________

5. Rounding Rules a. Periodically you will need to round numbers. If possible, ROUND the FINAL answers only. Rounding during calculations will introduce errors in the results, called rounding errors. In this course round to two significant digits past the decimal point unless otherwise directed. b. In the exercises below, circle or underline the digits to be retained in the answer (Ex: 6.0843 = 6.0843). c. Note: If the next digit following the decimal point is less than 5, keep the retained digits as they are. If the digit following the decimal point is greater than or equal to 5, increase the last retained digit by 1.

6. More practice problems

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Student Instructions: Round the numbers to the 2nd significant digit past the decimal point. Ensure that the final numbers are in correct engineering notation format. 3.258k pugil sticks 0.035829k habaeros 7,891,348 MREs 98,592 II. tons = = = = _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________

Performing math with engineering notation is not difficult. Here are the basic rules to follow when combining numbers: A. Adding numbers in engineering notation. Start by making the exponents the same. After doing this, add the coefficients together. Convert this answer back to proper notation when this step is complete. Example: Problem: Convert: Add: Proper format: Find the sum 243k apples + 786 apples = ? 243k apples + 0.786k apples = ? 243.786k apples 243.79k apples

B. Subtracting numbers in engineering notation follows the same rules as in addition: Example: Problem: Convert: Subtract: Proper Format: Find the difference 342.89m grams - 840 grams = ? 342,890 grams - 840 grams = ? 342,050 grams 342.05m grams

C. Multiplying numbers in engineering notation. Multiply the coefficients and add the exponents together. Find the product (342m donuts)(4 donuts) = ? 342 x 4 = 1,368 milli(x10-3) and (x100)-3+0 = -3 Put them together: 1,368m (x10-3) Proper Format: 1.37 donuts D. Dividing numbers in engineering notation. Divide the coefficients and subtract the exponents. Example: Problem: Combine coefficients: Add exponents:

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Example: Problem: Combine coefficients: Subtract exponents: Put them together: Proper Format:

Find the quotient (1.37k cups)(4m cups) = ? (1.37)(4) =.3425 Kilo (x103) and milli (x10-3)3-(-3)= 6 0.3425 (x106) 342.50k cups

1.

Practice Problems: = = = = = _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________ _________________

345.6k + 42M 640.33m + 768 3.8M - 942k 345.6m - 969 (745.6m) (42k)

(345.6m) (420) 15 50m 510m 17

= = =

_________________ _________________ _________________

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REFERENCES: 2. 1. Basic Electronics (9th Edition), Grob Introductory Electronic Circuits, Robert T. Paynter

PREPARED BY: ____________________________________________ TITLE: __________________________________________________ SIGNATURE: ________________________ DATE: ______________ MODIFIED BY: _A.L.JOHNSON__________ DATE: _10/21/2008___ APPROVED BY: ____________________________________________ TITLE: __________________________________________________ SIGNATURE: ________________________ DATE: ______________

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NOTES:

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