Copyright 2013, 2009, 2005, 2002 Pearson, Education, Inc.

5.1

Exponents and
Scientific Notation
 Exponents
Exponents that are natural numbers are
shorthand notation for repeating factors.
34 = 3 3 3 3
3 is the base
4 is the exponent (also called power)

Note by the order of operations that exponents

are calculated before other operations.
 The Product Rule

Product Rule for Exponents

If m and n are positive integers and a is a real number, then
am an = am+n
 Example
Use the product rule to simplify.
32 34 = 32+4 = 36 = 3 3 3 3 3 3 = 729

z3 z2 z5 = z3+2+5 = z10

(3y2)( 4y4) = 3 y2 (4) y4

= 3(4)(y2 y4)
= 12y6
 Zero Exponent

Zero Exponent
If a does not equal 0, then a0 = 1.

Example:
Simplify each of the following expressions.
50 = 1
(xyz3)0 = x0 y0 (z3)0 = 1 1 1 = 1

x0 = (x0) = 1
 Example
Evaluate the following.

50 = 1

(xyz3)0 = x0 y0 (z3)0 =111=1

x0 = (x0) = 1
 The Quotient Rule
Quotient Rule for Exponents
If a is a nonzero real number and m and n are integers, then

m
a m n
n
a
a
a0
 Example
Use the quotient rule to simplify.
x7 74
x x 3
x4

20 x 6 6 5
5x 5 x or 5 x
1
4x5
9a 4 b7 9 a 4 b 7 4 1 7 2

2 3( a )( b ) 3a 3 5
b
3ab 2
3 a b
Group common
bases together
 Negative Exponents
Negative Exponents
If a is a real number other than 0 and n is a positive integer,
then
n 1
a n
a
 Example
Simplify and write with positive exponents only.
1 1
3 2
2
3 9

1 1
( 4) 4

( 4) 4
256

2 Remember that without parentheses, x is the

2x 4
4 base for the exponent 4, not 2x
x
 Example
Simplify and write with positive exponents only.
x 9 9 2 11 1
2
x x 11
x x
2 x 7 y 2 x 71y 2( 5) x 8 y 7 y 7
5 8
10 xy 5 5 5x

3 2
(3 x )( x ) 3x 32 3x 1
x6
6 3x 16 3x 7 3
x6 x x7
 Example
Simplify. Assume that a and t are nonzero integers
and that x is not 0.

x 2a x 3 x 2 a 3

2 t 1
x x 2t 1
t 5 x (2 t 1)( t 5)
x 2 t 1t 5
x t 4
x x t 5
 Scientific Notation

In many fields of science we encounter very large or very

small numbers. Scientific notation is a convenient
shorthand for expressing these types of numbers.

Scientific notation
A positive number is written in scientific notation if it is
written as a product of a number a, where
1 a < 10, and an integer power r of 10.
a 10r
Writing a Number in Scientific Notation

1) Move the decimal point in the original number to

the until the new number has a value between 1
and 10.
2) Count the number of decimal places the decimal
point was moved in Step 1.
If the original number is 10 or greater, the count
is positive.
If the original number is less than 1, the count is
negative.
3) Write the product of the new number in Step 1 by
10 raised to an exponent equal to the count found
in Step 2.
 Example

Write each of the following in scientific notation.

Move the decimal 3 places to the left, so that the

a. 4700 new number has a value between 1 and 10.

Since we moved the decimal 3 places, and the

original number was > 10, our count is positive 3.
4700 = 4.7 103
Move the decimal 4 places to the right, so that the
b. 0.00047 new number has a value between 1 and 10.

Since we moved the decimal 4 places, and the

original number was < 1, our count is negative 4.
0.00047 = 4.7 10-4
 Scientific Notation

Writing a Scientific Notation Number in

Standard Form
Move the decimal point the same number of
places as the exponent on 10.
If the exponent is positive, move the
decimal point to the right.
If the exponent is negative, move the
decimal point to the left.
 Example

Write each of the following in standard notation.

a. 5.2738 103
Since the exponent is a positive 3, we move the
decimal 3 places to the right.
5.2738 103 = 5273.8

b. 6.45 10-5
Since the exponent is a negative 5, we move the
decimal 5 places to the left.
00006.45 10-5 = 0.0000645