What does a negative exponent in scientific notation indicate?

What does a negative exponent in scientific notation indicate?

• A. Division by 10
• B. Multiplication by 10
• C. Addition of 10
• D. Subtraction of 10

Answer: (A)

A negative exponent means you are using the reciprocal of a power of ten, so the value is divided by 10^n. In scientific notation, the number is a mantissa times 10 raised to an exponent; when the exponent is negative, 10^-n equals 1/10^n, which shifts the decimal point to the left by n places. For example, 3.7 × 10^-2 equals 0.037 because 10^-2 is 1/100. This is why the negative exponent indicates division by 10^n.

A negative exponent means you are using the reciprocal of a power of ten, so the value is divided by 10^n. In scientific notation, the number is a mantissa times 10 raised to an exponent; when the exponent is negative, 10^-n equals 1/10^n, which shifts the decimal point to the left by n places. For example, 3.7 × 10^-2 equals 0.037 because 10^-2 is 1/100. This is why the negative exponent indicates division by 10^n.