When you multiply a decimal by a power of 10, simply move the decimal place to the right as many places as there are 0s in the power of 10. When you divide a decimal by a power of 10, simply move the decimal place to the left as many places as there are 0s in the power of 10.
You can convert the power of 10 to a decimal and multiply it by 0.502, or you can move the decimal place of 0.502 to the left depending on the value of the exponent:
<u>0.502 x 10^2=0.00502</u> → 10^2 is equal to 100. So, 0.502 x 100=0.00502 OR 10 is raised to a power of 2, so move the decimal place 2 times to get 0.00502.
<u>0.502 x 10^3=0.000502</u> → 10^3 is equal to 1000. So, 0.502 x 1000=0.000502 OR 10 is raised to a power of 3, so move the decimal place 3 times to get 0.000502.
Hope you understand and that this helps with your question! :)
SAMPLE RESPONSE EDGENUITY
You move the decimal to the right when multiplying a number by 10 because you are making the number bigger. You move the decimal to the left when multiplying a number by 0.1 because you are making the number smaller.
