Atomic Scale

This Instructional Activity is a part of the Lesson 11, Unit 7, Grade 8. Students convert a decimal to a multiple of a power of 10 and plot it on a number line. The first problem leads to a product of an integer and a power of 10, and the second leads to a product of a decimal and a power of 10. It is difficult to fit the numbers on the number line without using scientific notation. Again, students build experience with scientific notation before the term is formally introduced.