Need help with physics equations

[ActuallyImad]

When I see an equation like 6.67384 x 10^-11 (G constant), how exactly do i write out the 10^-11 part, would it be 0. (eleven 0s and a one? or ten 0s and 1) or am i wrong on both of them? Basically the ideal reply to this would realy just be what exactly the 10^-11 is written out as, because though I get the meaning, if I tried to solve something with an equation containing that kind of math language, I probably wouldn't be correct because I'm not 100% sure how to write it.

This is my first post here, but I think you guys can expect to see me around the Physics board pretty often

Thanks for any help in advance,

Imad

[Strange]

If you start with the fact that anything to the power 1 is itself we can see that: 10^1 = 10. Now, if we go down we get:

 

10^0 = 1

10^-1 = 0.1 (which makes sense as 10^1 = 10 and 10^-1 = 1/10 = 0.1)

10^-2 = 0.01 (which makes sense as 10^2 = 100 and 10^-12 = 1/100 = 0.01)

10^-3 = 0.001 (ditto)

...

10^-11 = 0.00000000001 (hope I counted those right, or you will be horribly confused!)

[imatfaal]

Think about what standard form actually represents and what negative exponents are:

 

6.67x10-11 is 6.67 times (1 over 10^11) that might still not be immediately accessible.

But you know that

10^-1= 1/10 = 0.1

and that

10^-2 = 1/(10^2) = 1/100 = 0.01

and I guess you know that

6 * 1/10 = 0.6

and

6 * 1/100 + 0.06

so then you really know this

6*10^-1 = 0.6

6*10^-2 = 0.06

and from there you can surely get to 10^-11

[ActuallyImad]

Both of your replies were really helpful. So putting negative exponents to the side for a second, say, 6.67 * 10^2 simplified (just to cement my understanding) would be 6.67 * 100 = 667, and the negative would be 6.67 * 0.01 = 0.0667 If so, then I completely understand that part.

Now I get that, I guess I'll ask you very next thing I should learn after that, when calculating the equation in its simplified form ( 6.67 x 0.00000000001 ) I get the answer 6.67384e-11 , could anyone explain the e-11 part? The answer to 6.67384 x 10^-11 obviously isn't 6.67384, so why is it represented that way, or maybe not why is it that way, but my naivety would have me look at that equation and see it as 6.67384 , so how am I interpreting that wrongly? I mean, the only way it's equal to that is if its 6.67384 * 1, and it clearly isn't. I know to people who know these things, you know it isn't that, and doesn't look like it's equal to 6.67384 but it does to me, basiclly, how do I apply e-11 to the sum before it and come out with the right answer.

Thanks again.

[Strange]

The 'e' notation is just a shorthand for the 10^ notation (e for exponent). I think it originated in programming languages (and old IO devices) as a way of displaying scientific notation in a readable and printable way.

 

So, 6.7e-11 = 6.7x10^-11

Apparently there are all sorts of other variants: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_notation#E_notation