CKMath Unit 7: Exponents and Scientific Notation
Focus:
In grade 6, students studied whole-number exponents. In this unit, they extend the definition of exponents to include all integers, and in the process codify the properties of exponents. They apply these concepts to the base-ten system, and learn about orders of magnitude and scientific notation in order to represent and compute with very large and very small quantities.
In the last five lessons, students write estimates of quantities in terms of integer or non-integer multiples of powers of 10 and use their knowledge of exponential expressions to solve problems, e.g., How many meter sticks does it take to equal the mass of the Moon? They are introduced to the term “scientific notation,” practice distinguishing scientific from other notation, and use scientific notation (with no more than three significant figures) in order to make additive and multiplicative comparisons of pairs of quantities. They compute sums, differences, products, and quotients of numbers written in scientific notation (some with as many as four significant figures), using such calculations to estimate quantities. They make measurement conversions that involve powers of ten, e.g., converting bytes to kilobytes or gigabytes, choose appropriate units for measurements and express them in scientific notation.
Number of Lessons: 16
Instruction Time:
Approximately 50 minutes
(Please note that each lesson is designed for one instructional block, and may be divided into shorter or longer segments based on teacher pacing and student needs.)
