Write Numbers in Standard Form

Standard (index) form is a shorthand way of writing a large or a small number.

It consists of a number between 1 and 10 (but not equal to 10) multiplied by a power of 10, for example 2.94 × 10² or 4.8 × 10^-3.

Example

Change 5830 into standard form.

First, fix the decimal point after the first non-zero digit, i.e. 5.830 or 5.83

Next, determine the power of 10 that you must multiply 5.83 by, to get back to 5830.  

In this case it is 3.

So 5830 = 5.83 × 10³

Other Examples

11.92 = 1.192 × 10

694,000,000 = 6.94 x 10⁸
0.00694 = 6.94 × 10^-3

Let's have a go at some questions.