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Converting 4,0004{,}000 and 0.0040.004 to Scientific Notation

To rewrite a number in scientific notation, identify how many places the decimal point must move to create a first factor that is greater than or equal to 11 but less than 1010, and then multiply by the corresponding power of 1010. For a number larger than 11, the power of 1010 is positive. For instance, 4,0004{,}000 means 4imes1,0004 imes 1{,}000, which is rewritten as 4imes1034 imes 10^3. Visually, the decimal point starts at the right of 4,0004{,}000 and moves 33 places to the left to get 44, making the exponent 33. For a number between 00 and 11, the power of 1010 is negative. For example, 0.0040.004 means 4imes11,0004 imes \frac{1}{1{,}000}, which is rewritten as 4imes11034 imes \frac{1}{10^3} or 4imes1034 imes 10^{-3}. Here, the decimal point is moved 33 places to the right to obtain the factor 44, making the exponent 3-3.

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Updated 2026-05-25

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