Scientific Notation in Any Base

written by Teresa Carrigan


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WHAT IS IT?

This model demonstrates scientific notation in any base from two to sixteen.

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HOW IT WORKS

First the radix point (decimal point in base ten) moves to the left until a single digit is to its left. Then any leading zeroes are dropped, moving the radix point to the right. Finally any trailing zeroes are dropped. Each time the radix point moves to the left, the exponent increases. Each time the radix point moves to the right, the exponent decreases.


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Applets on this website were written by Teresa Carrigan in 2004, for use in computer science courses at Blackburn College, with the exception of the Fireworks applet. The applets made with NetLogo require Java 1.4.1 or higher to run. The applets made with NetBeans require Java 1.4.2 or higher to run. Applets might not run on Windows 95 or Mac OS 8 or 9. You may obtain the latest Java plugin from Sun's Java site.