DDTDataDrivenTalesRising 8 Summer Bridge

Day 8: Exponents and Scientific Notation

Preview exponents, square roots, powers of 10, and scientific notation.

Student Goal

I can use exponents and powers of 10 to represent numbers.

Why It Matters

Exponents and scientific notation help students work with very large and very small numbers in science, technology, and 8th grade math.

Warm-Up

Warm-Up 1

Write 4 x 4 x 4 using an exponent.

Warm-Up 2

Find 10^2.

Warm-Up 3

Which number is a perfect square?

Short Lesson

Standard Focus

NC.8.EE: Expressions and Equations

Student-Friendly Standard Goal

I can use powers, roots, and powers of 10 to describe number size.

  • An exponent tells how many times to use a number as a factor.
  • Powers of 10 help describe place value for very large and very small numbers.
  • Scientific notation writes a number as a factor from 1 to 10 times a power of 10.

Guided Examples

Guided Example 1

Write Scientific Notation

Write 4200 using scientific notation.

Step 1

4200 = 4.2 x 1000

What number between 1 and 10 starts the notation?

Guided Example 2

Estimate a Square Root

Estimate the square root of 50.

Step 1

7^2 = 49 and 8^2 = 64

Between which two whole numbers is the square root of 50?

Practice

Problem 1

Write 6 x 6 using an exponent.

Problem 2

Find 3^3.

Problem 3

Which scientific notation equals 56000?

Problem 4

The square root of 80 is between which two whole numbers?

Problem 5

A student says 10^4 = 40. What is the mistake?

Reflection

How are you feeling about today's skill?

Optional reflection: Why do people use scientific notation?