FTCE General Knowledge Math Practice Test

What is the first step in finding the scientific notation of a decimal number?

1. Count the number of zeros

2. Identify the first non-zero digit

3. Divide the number by 10

4. Convert to a fraction

The correct answer is: Identify the first non-zero digit

To find the scientific notation of a decimal number, the first step is to identify the first non-zero digit. This is crucial because scientific notation represents numbers in the form of a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10. By locating the first non-zero digit, you can determine how many places the decimal point needs to move in order to express the number in this standardized form. For example, if you have the number 0.00456, the first non-zero digit is '4'. This guides you in shifting the decimal point to the right of this digit to form the number 4.56. The next step would involve counting how many places you moved the decimal to figure out the appropriate power of 10 to use with your base. The other options, while they may contribute to understanding different aspects of the number, do not specifically address the critical first step needed to establish the foundational structure of the scientific notation format. Counting zeros or converting to a fraction might apply in certain scenarios, but they do not directly facilitate the transition to scientific notation in the same fundamental way as identifying the first non-zero digit.