Do you know what scientific notation is, how you ever wondered what jobs use it in everyday life? Well read this to find out! Scientific notation is the process of taking a really small or large numbers that are simplified into a equation. An example: 123,000= 10^5 x 1.23. ( a larger number transferred into a equation) 0.000000456=10^-8 x 4.56 ( a smaller number transferred into an equation). Some of the many fields that use scientific notation are Astronomy, Chemistry, and Doctors.
In astronomy there are many different numbers to describe time, distance, desenties, ages, temperatures and much more.
These numbers can be extremely small and large. Instead of having to write out the number (which could possibly take a while to write out) they use scientific notation to simplify and collect information in a smaller form. Most scientists agree that there should only be one number to the left of the decimal point, it is this way so everyone follows the format of base 10. Earth’s distance to the moon is 384,400,000 meters, another way to write that is 384,400,000=10^8 x 3.
848.
Scientific notation is also used in chemistry. Chemists use many chemicals sometimes in the form of liquid. They use scientific notation to simplify the size of chemical or liquid used in the chemical, chemists use it measure the amount of of space the chemical takes up. Normally it is used with numbers that are part of a whole. Example of ingredients tap water- chlorine, fluorine compounds, salts, hormones, nitrates, pesticides. If you took all these numbers into decimals in a liter of water then you would get some very large numbers and very small numbers, instead of using those long numbers you can convert them into equations with scientific notation.
Scientific notation as it is used in astronomy and chemistry it is also used in a doctors daily life. Doctors of all kinds (pediatricians, surgeons, dermatologists) each use simple methods to research, diagonios, and find cures for diseases. One of the many methods is scientific notation. One way doctors use scientific notation is when they are doing a count of how many people have that disease, for example: 200,00 people are hospitalized each year from the flu, but instead of writing 200,000 they write 2.0 x 10^5 in the records.
Astronomers, chemists, and doctors are some of the many people that use scientific notation in daily life. Each of these jobs can use very large numbers or very small numbers which is why scientific notation is so useful in these fields. By using scientific notation you can easily simplify these numbers into an equation.