Activity H: Working with very large or very small values

For general information about the activities, and an overview of those currently available, see the Teacher discussion activities page.

The activity

How do you chose appropriate units for values? When is it useful to use standard form (scientific notation)? Are there simple rules to apply?

Teacher Activity H: Working with very large or very small values

Further information about the issues raised by this activity can be found in the guidance booklet as described below.

What is in the guidance?

The guidance booklet is published on the ASE website and can be directly downloaded from here:

The Language of Mathematics in Science: A Guide for Teachers
of 11-16 Science

Discussion of the key ideas that are relevant to this activity can be found in the guidance booklet on the following pages:

• Section 2.6  Dealing with very large and very small values (pp 20-21)