Scientific notationFind the power of ten
Name: Date:
Fill in the missing power of ten.
181000000 = 8.1 × 10n, n =
25200000 = 5.2 × 10n, n =
32400 = 2.4 × 10n, n =
4760000000 = 7.6 × 10n, n =
5880 = 8.8 × 10n, n =
625000 = 2.5 × 10n, n =
Scientific notation: power of ten worksheets
Writing a standard number in scientific notation has two parts, and this sheet asks for the harder one: the power of ten. These free printable worksheets give the coefficient and ask for the exponent, with an answer key.
If they get stuck
Scientific notation: power of ten
The answer key prints on a separate page.
What's on this sheet
To write 48000 as 4.8 × 10ⁿ, the point moves four places from after the 8 to between the 4 and the 8 — so n is 4. Asking for the exponent on its own is what makes the counting visible: a child who writes 48 × 10³ has moved the point the wrong distance, and a question with the coefficient already filled in shows exactly that.
Why this sheet works
The power of ten is a count of places, not a count of zeros, and the two come apart the moment a number has digits after the leading one. 48000 has three zeros but its exponent is 4, because the point travels past the 8 as well. Every number here is one where that distinction matters.
How this one works
One question from a sheet like this one, worked a step at a time — with a sentence saying what just happened and why.
Scientific notation: power of ten, step by step