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Part 8:
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Formulae and Scientific Notation |
| Manipulating using Scientific Notation All scientific calculators have a 'scientific' mode, in which all calculations will be performed using scientific notation. What's more, you can usually specify the number of significant figures you want to use. It is often accessed by pressing a MODE key followed by some sort of number code (e.g. MODE 6) followed by the number of figures you want to keep in your answers. Other calculators have a key marked ESF or EFS or something similar. If in doubt, consult the manual. You can enter numbers in their normal, conventional format, perform some operations, and the answer will pop out in scientific notation. Or you can enter the numbers in scientific notation to start with. To do this you use the key marked EXP (or EE on some older machines). When you press the EXP key you are actually typing in 'times 10 to the power of'. Thus to key in 5.56 × 10-3 you actually key 5.56 [EXP] -3. You DON'T type the multiplication sign. To type the 'minus' sign you have to press a key which looks either like this [-] or like this [+/-]. |
