Level IGCSE
Subject Maths (0580)
Exam Board Cambridge International Examinations (CIE)
Paper Type Extended
Topic Number
Sub-Topic Standard Form
Standard Form
Standard form is also known as standard index form or sometimes
as scientific notation. It involves writing large numbers or very small
numbers in terms of powers of 10.
Positive indices and large numbers Worked examples
100 = 1 × 102 a Write 72 000 in standard form.
1000 = 1 × 103
7.2 × 104
10 000 = 1 × 104
3000 = 3 × 103 b Write 4 × 104 as an ordinary number.
4 × 104 = 4 × 10 000
For a number to be in standard form it must take the form A × 10n
where the index n is a positive or negative integer and A must lie in the = 40 000
range 1 A < 10. c Multiply the following and write your answer in standard form:
e.g. 3100 can be written in many different ways: 600 × 4000
3.1 × 103 31 × 102 0.31 × 104 etc. = 2 400 000
= 2.4 × 106
However, only 3.1 × 103 satisfies the above conditions and therefore is
the only one which is written in standard form. d Multiply the following and write your answer in standard form:
(2.4 × 104 ) × (5 × 107 )
= 12 × 1011
= 1.2 × 10 12 when written in standard form
Negative indices and small numbers
Worked examples
A negative index is used when writing a number between 0 and 1 in
standard form. a Write 0.0032 in standard form.
e.g. 100 = 1 × 102 3.2 × 10−3
10 = 1 × 10 1
1 = 1 × 100
0.1 = 1 × 10−1 b Write 1.8 × 10−4 as an ordinary number.
0.01 = 1 × 10−2
0.001 = 1 × 10 3−
1.8 × 10−4 = 1.8 ÷ 104
0.0001= 1 × 10−4 = 1.8 ÷ 10 000
Note that A must still lie within the range 1 A < 10. = 0.000 18
WORKSHEET 3
1 Write 1.27 × 10–3 as an ordinary number.
....................................................[1]
2 Write 0.000 057 4 in standard form.
.................................................. [1]
3 Write 270 000 in standard form.
Answer ................................................ [1]
4 Write 53 400 000 in standard form.
Answer ................................................ [1]
5 Write 1.7 × 10–4 as an ordinary number.
Answer ................................................ [1]
6 (a) Write 2.8×102 as an ordinary number.
Answer(a) ................................................ [1]
(b) Work out 2.5 × 108 × 2 × 10–2.
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer(b) ................................................ [2]
7 Work out 4 × 10–5 × 6 × 1012.
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer ................................................ [2]
8 p = 4 × 105 q = 5 × 104
Find, giving your answer in standard form,
(a) pq,
Answer(a) ................................................ [2]
q
(b) p.
Answer(b) ................................................ [2]
9 Write the answer to the following calculations in standard form.
(a) 600 ÷ 8000
Answer(a) ............................................... [2]
(b) 108 – 7 × 106
Answer(b) ............................................... [2]
10 Calculate (4.3 × 108 ) + (2.5 × 107 ) .
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer ............................................... [2]
11 Calculate, giving your answers in standard form,
(a) 2 × (5.5 × 104) ,
Answer(a) ............................................... [2]
(b) (5.5 × 10 4) – (5 × 104) .
Answer(b) ............................................... [2]
12 The price of a ticket for a football match is $124 .
(a) Calculate the amount received when 76 500 tickets are sold.
Answer(a) $ [1]
(b) Write your answer to part (a) in standard form.
Answer(b) $ [1]
13 Work out 2(3 × 108 – 4 × 106), giving your answer in standard form.
Answer [2]
14 A hummingbird beats its wings 24 times per second.
(a) Calculate the number of times the hummingbird beats its wings in one hour.
Answer(a) [1]
(b) Write your answer to part (a) in standard form.
Answer(b) [1]
15 Solve the equation 4x + 6 × 103 = 8 × 104.
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer x = [3]
16 (a) Write 16 460 000 in standard form.
Answer(a) [1]
2
(b) Calculate 7.85 ÷ (2.366 × 10 ), giving your answer in standard form.
Answer(b) [2]
240 2
17 Work out .
5 × 10 6
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer [2]
18 Calculate the value of 5(6 × 103 + 400), giving your answer in standard form.
Answer [2]
19 Change 64 square metres into square millimetres.
Give your answer in standard form.
Answer mm2 [2]
53
20 23 48% 4.80
11
Write the numbers in order of size with the largest first.
Answer K= K K [2]
21 1 second = 106 microseconds.
Change 3 × 1013 microseconds into minutes. Give your answer in standard form.
Answer min [2]
22 (a) There are 109 nanoseconds in 1 second.
Find the number of nanoseconds in 5 minutes, giving your answer in standard form.
Answer(a) [2]
(b) Solve the equation 5 ( x + 3 × 106 ) = 4 × 107.
Answer(b) x = [2]
