The exponent indicates how large or small the number is. A positive exponent moves the decimal to the right, which creates a very large number. On the other hand, a negative exponent moves the decimal to the left, which creates a very small number.
When working with very large or very small numbers, scientists, mathematicians, and engineers often use scientific notation to express those quantities. Scientific notation uses exponential notation. When a number is written in scientific notation, the exponent tells you if the term is a large or a small number. A positive exponent indicates a large number and a negative exponent indicates a small number that is between 0 and 1.
