1. Scientific Notation Word Problems
2 x 1010 m2 = 20, 000, 000, 000 m2
Scientific Notation Word Problems
By Mr. Laws
8th Math/JCMS

2. Standard/Goal
8.EE.3 – Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times a whole number power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other.
8.EE.4 – Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used.

3. Essential Question
Using math principles, how do you perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation based on real world problems?

4. Strategies to Use in Sci. Not. Word Problems
You may get real world problems that may require you to multiply or divide or both in scientific notation. Remember each problem is unique and may require different operations to solve. The following are some helpful guide lines that will help you get your answer. UPS
Understand – Identify key information with the word problem. Highlight or underline the important information that will help you solve the problem.
Plan – Come up with a plan to solve the problem, such as, multiply, divide or convert numbers to help solve the problem.
Solve – This is where you use the plan to help get the answer. Make sure you doing the operation correctly and ALWAYS check your answers.

5. Example # 1
The area of the surface of the Atlantic Ocean is approximately 31, 830, 000 square miles. How is the area written in scientific notation?
a x 104
b x 105
c x 106
d x 107
What was your UPS for this problem?

6. Example # 2
Suppose that a scientist estimates that every square mile of the ocean contains an averages of 4.6 x 104 pieces of trash. The area of the Earth’s surface that is covered by the oceans is approximately 1.2 x 108 square miles. Using the estimate, how many pieces of trash are in the Earth’s ocean?
a. 5.5 x 1012
b. 1.2 x 108
c. 3.4 x 104
d. 2.6 x 103
What was your UPS for this problem?

7. Example # 3
California is the most populous state with approximately 4 x 107 people living in it. The population of the entire United States is approximately 3 x 108 people. About how many times greater is the population of the United States than the population of California? (Hint: You need to divide to find how many times as great one number is as another.)
What was your UPS for this problem?

8. Example # 4
Light travels at approximately 3.0 x 108 m/sec. How far does light travel in one month? Use 30 days as an average.
What was your UPS for this problem?

9. Example # 5
A rectangular section of wilderness will be set aside as a new wildlife refuge. Its dimensions are 5 x 105 meters by 4 x 104 meters. Find the area of the land in square meters. Then convert the are into square kilometers using the conversion : (1 square kilometer (km2) = 1 x 106 square meters (m2)).
What was your UPS for this problem?

10. Summary What did you learn about this lesson?
What are some important things to remember when solving scientific notation word problems?
Is there any other thing you would like to know about this lesson?