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EXAS
I
NSTRUMENTS
I
NCORPORATED
TI-15: A Guide for Teachers
17
Number Shorthand: Scientific Notation
(Continued)
Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions
To focus students’ attention on the connection
between the repeated factors of 10 and the scientific
notation display, ask questions such as:
•
What patterns do you see in your products
before the counter disappears?
They all have a 1 followed by the same number of
zeroes as factors of 10 that were used in the
product.
•
If you continued this pattern, what would the
product be at the point where the display of the
product changed? How is the product related to
the new display?
For example,
1x10^11
is in the place where the
product should be 100,000,000,000. The display
1x10^11
represents the product 1 x 10
11
.
•
What happens if you use 2 as the starting factor
and multiply by 10 repeatedly?
The displays are the same, except the first
number in all the products is 2. The display
2x10^11
represents the product 2 x 10
11
.
Continuing the Investigation
Students can use other powers of 10 as the repeating
factor, record the results in the table, and look for
patterns. For example, using 100 as the repeating
factor causes the exponent part of the scientific
notation display to increase by 2 every time
›
is
pressed.
Students can use a starting factor of 10 or greater,
record the results in the table, and look for patterns.
For example, using 12 as the starting factor soon
results in a display like
12 1.2 x10^13
, where the
exponent part of the display is one more than the
number of times 10 has been used as a factor.
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