When moving the decimal to the left, what type of exponent is applied?

When moving the decimal point to the left in scientific notation, a negative exponent is applied. This is because moving the decimal to the left indicates that the value is getting smaller, which corresponds to a negative power of ten.

For example, if you convert a number like 0.01 into scientific notation, you move the decimal two places to the right to get 1.0. This is represented as (1.0 \times 10^{-2}). The negative exponent of -2 reflects that the decimal was moved to convert a smaller number into a standard form.

In contrast, moving the decimal to the right indicates an increase in the value, leading to a positive exponent. A zero exponent is used when the number is exactly equal to one, indicating no change in magnitude.

Understanding these conventions is crucial for correctly interpreting and converting numbers between standard form and scientific notation.