Scientific Notation - Basic Operations

Basic Operations

Given two numbers in scientific notation,

and

Multiplication and division are performed using the rules for operation with exponential functions:

and

Some examples are:

and

Addition and subtraction require the numbers to be represented using the same exponential part, so that the significand can be simply added or subtracted. :

Next, add or subtract the significands:

An example:

Read more about this topic:  Scientific Notation

Famous quotes containing the words basic and/or operations:

    When you realize how hard it is to know the truth about yourself, you understand that even the most exhaustive and well-meaning autobiography, determined to tell the truth, represents, at best, a guess. There have been times in my life when I felt incredibly happy. Life was full. I seemed productive. Then I thought,”Am I really happy or am I merely masking a deep depression with frantic activity?” If I don’t know such basic things about myself, who does?
    Phyllis Rose (b. 1942)

    It may seem strange that any road through such a wilderness should be passable, even in winter, when the snow is three or four feet deep, but at that season, wherever lumbering operations are actively carried on, teams are continually passing on the single track, and it becomes as smooth almost as a railway.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)