Question

How do you convert a negative number into scientific notation?

Answer 1

Refer to the explanation.

Explanation:

A negative number is converted into correct scientific notation the same way as a positive number. The only difference is that the negative number has a negative sign at the front.

Take for example the number `-240`. You would write it in scientific notation as `-2.4xx10^2`. The exponent is positive because the decimal was moved two decimal places to the left. The number still has a negative sign in front because it is still a negative number.

Lets look at another example: `-0.894`. In scientific notation the number would be written as `-8.94xx10^(-1)"`. The exponent is negative because the decimal was moved to the right.

In both examples, the negative number was converted into scientific notation in the usual way. The fact that the number was negative did not affect the conversion into scientific notation.