Lesson 5: Scientific Notation (including all operations)
Duration of Days: 3
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to use scientific notation to estimate, express, and perform operations with very large or very small quantities
How can we use numbers expressed as a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities?
How do you perform operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) with numbers in scientific notation, including problems combining decimal and scientific notation?
How do you interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology and choose appropriate units of measure for extreme quantities?
Scientific Notation
Power of 10
Integer Exponent
Estimation
Decimal Notation
8.EE.A.3: Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities.
8.EE.A.4: Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used.
Description: A lesson series focusing on the estimation, expression, and operation of large and small values using scientific notation.
Purpose: To enable students to interpret and manipulate extreme quantities in real-world contexts and choose appropriate units of size for measurements.
DOK Level: Level 3 (Strategic Thinking) – Performing complex operations and choosing appropriate units/formats for real-world scenarios.
Using scientific notation for global data like population comparisons (e.g., comparing the population of the US to the world) or scientific measurements like seafloor spreading in millimeters per year.
Decimal Placement: Confusing the direction the decimal moves when converting to and from scientific notation, especially with negative exponents.
Exponent Misinterpretation: Believing that a negative exponent makes the entire number negative rather than representing a very small value.
Operations Alignment: Attempting to add or subtract numbers in scientific notation without first ensuring they have the same power of 10.
Calculation Errors: Forgetting to re-adjust the final answer into proper scientific notation (where the first number must be between 1 and 10) after performing multiplication or division.
Use tech-generated scientific notation examples for students to interpret and provide scaffolded practice for switching between units of measure (e.g., millimeters to kilometers) for extreme values.
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