Scientists look at things in very particular ways using sophisticated equipment, everyday instruments, and unlikely tools. Some things that scientists want to see are so small that they need a magnifying glass, or a microscope. Other things are so far way that they need a powerful telescope in order to see them. It is important to understand and be able to compare the size of things we are studying.
Exponential notation is a way scientists write very large or very small numbers.
When a nucleus of a cell is seen at 10 -6 meters wide, this number represents one millionth of a meter, or 0.000001 meters. Notice how each picture in this simulation is an image of something that is 10 times bigger or smaller than the one before or after it. The number on the right is the size of what is seen in the picture. The number on the left is the same number written in powers of ten, or exponential notation . In this simulation you will first view the Milky Way at 10 million light years from the Earth.