A number in scientific notation form with a negative exponent has a value __________.

A number in scientific notation form with a negative exponent has a value __________.

• A. Greater than 1
• B. Between 1 and 10
• C. Greater than 10
• D. Less than 1

Answer: (D)

Numbers written in scientific notation take the form a × 10^n, where the mantissa a is between 1 and 10 and the exponent n is an integer. If n is negative, you’re dividing a by 10^|n|, which makes the value smaller than 1. For example, 4.5 × 10^-2 equals 0.045. Because the exponent is negative, the magnitude is less than 1.

Numbers written in scientific notation take the form a × 10^n, where the mantissa a is between 1 and 10 and the exponent n is an integer. If n is negative, you’re dividing a by 10^|n|, which makes the value smaller than 1. For example, 4.5 × 10^-2 equals 0.045. Because the exponent is negative, the magnitude is less than 1.