In scientific problems the powers of 10 are the easiest thing to handle if you keep in mind two or three rules.
- 1/10^(a) = 10^(-a)
- (10^a)*(10^b) = 10^(a+b)
- (10^a)/(10^b) = 10^(a-b)
- (10^a)^b=10^(a*b)
Example : suppose you want to calculate the charge to mass ratio of the electon
m_e= 9.109534 E-31 kg
q_e=1.6021892 E-19 C
q_e/m_e= (1.6021892/9.109534)* (E-19)*(E 31) C/kg
q_e/m_e= (1.6021892/9.109534)* (E 31-19) C/kg
q_e/m_e= (1.758804786 E-1)* (E 12) C/kg
q_e/m_e= 1.7588048 E 11 C/kg
If you just use your calculator to operate on the mantissas (multiplications and divisions) and handle the powers of 10 by hand, you will make fewer errors, especially if you are not confident in your mastery of the calculator as regards exponents.
Anyway, if you could give us a sample of the divisions you are performing, we might be able to help you. Post a comment to this thread and we will take it from there.
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