Randall,
I don't know about a power function, but reducing numbers to powers of
ten is basically what a logarithm is for (assuming it's a base 10
logarithm of course).
log 10 = 1
log 100 = 2
log 1000 = 3
etc.
For an "uneven" number, you could just round down the result for your
purposes:
log 2,098,000 = 6.32 => 6
Since logarithms and exponents are basically interchangeable, you
could probably rework any logarithmic formula into exponents, but may
end up with a more complicated formula.
HTH
You are correct brian. Sorry. But i know when i was younger and
smarter i had an equasion that converted a number to scientific
notation without counting digits. Used the power "^" function
somehow.
-----Original Message-----
From: "Brian Yennie" <[email protected]>
To: "How to use Revolution" <[email protected]>
Sent: 4/20/2009 5:31 PM
Subject: Re: convert to scientific notation
Randall,
You want the nth root and you are doing it correctly, but have a false
assumption (the 10th root of 100 is NOT 2). I showed how to derive
10^x = 100, which is more relevant to scientific notation. Scientific
notation does not involve taking the 10th root of a number, which I
why I figure you are confused.
Example: 2,098,000 = 2.098 x 10 ^ 6
No 10th roots involved, in fact you can just count digits.
Not confused by what i mean. How do i get the nth root of a number?
-----Original Message-----
From: "Brian Yennie" <[email protected]>
To: "How to use Revolution" <[email protected]>
Sent: 4/20/2009 5:03 PM
Subject: Re: convert to scientific notation
Randall,
I think you are confusing two different concepts.
10^2 = 100, not 2^10 = 100.
What you want is something like this:
Step 1) 10^x = 100
Step 2) log 10^x = log 100
Step 3) x log 10 = log 100
Step 4) x = log 100 / log 10
In short, you need to use logarithms and you'll get a formula where x
= log y / log z.
If you were trying to solve x^10 = 100, then you could do what you
suggest and just raise both side to the (1/10)th power. But that
number will not be 2 -- it's about 1.58.
I can't remember how to use power function "^" to find the nth root
of a number. To find the 2ndth root of a number we can use the
"sqrt()" function. But to find the nth root????
For instance, lets say I want to convert a number to scientific
notation (the 10th root of that number)... I used to know how to use
the power function to do this. Anyone remember how to do it?
I tried to get the 10th root (scientific notation) of 100 (which
should = 2) by: 100^(1/10) ... but that isn't it.
Any ideas? I feel brain dead.
Randall
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Brian Yennie
QLD Learning
(310)-367-7364
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