Reporting a number in the power of ten is called scientific notation, i.e., in this notation, every measurement is written as a × 10x , where a is a number between 1 to 10 and x is the positive or negative power of 10, e.g.,
1.2 m = 1.20 × 102 cm
= 1.20 × 103 mm
= 1.20 × 10-3 km.
