Exponential notation is a way to express large or small numbers using powers of ten. In this system, a number is written as a base multiplied by ten raised to an exponent. For example, the number 5,000 can be written as 5 × 10^3, where 3 is the exponent indicating that 10 is multiplied by itself three times. This makes it easier to read and work with very large or very small numbers. Exponential notation is especially useful in fields like science and engineering, where measurements can vary greatly in size. For instance, the speed of light is approximately 3 × 10^8 meters per second, while a tiny particle might be measured in nanometers, like 1 × 10^-9 meters. This