In approximate calculations and in general
descriptions, like when we say "it's about ..... km away", the quantity
is usually expressed by its order of magnitude,
rounding it to the nearest power of ten to the number.
Referring to a length of 8ˇ 10 -6 m we say that it
is of the order of magnitude of 10 -5 m (the order of 10
micras), as 8 is greater than 5, and the power of ten increases by one
unit.
A length of 1.2ˇ 103 m has an order of magnitude of
10 3 m (the order of kilometres) .
Each time you click on init in the following visual a new exercise will
appear. Solve them until you have completely understood the
concept.
