Scientific notation eliminates the need to write an excessive number of zeroes.
Scientific notation is a way of writing very small or very large numbers. It consists of a number greater than or equal to one, but less than ten, multiplied by a power of ten. Large numbers are written with a positive exponent, while small numbers have a negative exponent. For example, 9,800,000 can be expressed in scientific notation as 9.8 x 10^6, and 0.000024 is written 2.4 x 10^-5. Students typically learn work with scientific notation in middle school, and might be surprised to learn some interesting facts about it.
Nobody Invented It
Unlike so many other mathematical concepts -- such as the Pythagorean Theorem and Pascal's Triangle -- no one person is credited with coming up with the idea of scientific notation. The French mathematician and philosopher Rene Descartes used exponent notations in the 17th century, but a cohesive, uniform system of writing very large and very small numbers did not become common until the 20th century, possibly as a result of discoveries in astronomy and physics.
It Isn't Just For Scientists
Despite its name, scientific notation is actually used by people in many different career fields, not just scientists. It's useful to anybody who works with extremely tiny or extremely large quantities. Different types of engineers, including civil, electrical and software engineers, use scientific notation to quantify measurements. People who work with money, such as bookkeepers, auditors, insurance underwriters, economists and actuaries use it, as do people who perform data entry of various sorts. Other types of jobs in which scientific notation may be useful include computer programming, market research, medical professions and veterinary offices.
It Saves Time and Space
Numbers continue infinitely, and because of this, writing them can require an enormous number of zeroes. For instance, you might think there are a lot of zeroes in the number 70,000,000, but imagine having to write out a number with 20, 50 or even 100 zeroes. It might take up an entire piece of paper, and would take an inordinately long amount of time to write out. And if you were trying to perform any calculations, such as multiplication or division, with such numbers, that would usurp an even more excessive amount of time and space. Fortunately, scientific notation solves these problems; it's easier to decipher, and eliminates the need to count or write a colossal number of zeroes.
Zero is Flexible
The number zero lacks a singular representation in scientific notation -- that is, it can be expressed in any number of ways. This is due to the fact that zero multiplied by any other number equals zero. For example, 0 x 10^1 is the same as 0 x 10, which equals zero, and 0 x 10^2 is equivalent to 0 x 100, which again, simplifies to zero. Zero can be written with negative exponents too; 0 x 10^-1 equates to 0 x 0.1, ultimately resulting in zero. You could even write zero in scientific notation as 0 x 10^257 or 0 x 10^-34, for instance.
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