MA.8.NSO.1.4 · Number Sense and Operations and Probability

Scientific Notation and Comparing Magnitudes: Sample FAST Questions

Scientific notation is how 8th grade math writes very large and very small quantities, like 3.2 × 10^8 or 5.1 × 10^−6. Students convert both directions between standard form and scientific notation, and determine how many times larger or smaller one number is than another.

How the FAST tests this benchmark

FAST items are mostly equation editor questions converting a value or reporting a power of 10, plus multiple choice comparisons. Watch the calculator display: it shows scientific notation as E notation, so 2.3147E27 has to be rewritten as 2.3147 × 10^27 before it counts.

Skills students need

Write a number in scientific notation
Convert scientific notation back to standard form
Compare two numbers written in scientific notation
Determine how many times larger or smaller one quantity is

Try 6 real MA.8.NSO.1.4 questions

These come straight from Algebro's 8th grade pre-algebra question bank, easiest first. Answer one, check it, then move to the next.

Question 1 of 6

Answer it and Algebro checks it instantly

Question 1EasyMultiple Choice

A biologist counts organisms in two samples. The first value is

7 \times 10^{6}

and the second value is

7 \times 10^{2}

. How many times larger is the first value than the second value?

Showcase extra: the real practice and quiz players do not have this button.

Question 3MediumMatching

Three objects are compared by mass. Match each comparison to how many times larger the first number is than the second.

Pick one match in each row, then check.

	A. $3{,}000$	B. $3 \times 10^{4}$	C. $300$
$\frac{8.1 \times 10^{7}}{2.7 \times 10^{3}}$
$\frac{8.1 \times 10^{7}}{2.7 \times 10^{5}}$
$\frac{8.1 \times 10^{7}}{2.7 \times 10^{4}}$

Showcase extra: the real practice and quiz players do not have this button.

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More 8th grade number sense and probability benchmarks

MA.8.NSO.1.5

Operations with Numbers in Scientific Notation

MA.8.NSO.1.6

Real-World Problems with Scientific Notation

MA.8.NSO.1.7

Order of Operations with Exponents and Radicals