Patterns with Powers of Ten

Mathematics · Number Representation & Place Value · ages 10-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Write 10 to the power 4 as an ordinary number.
Answer: ______________
What does 10 to the power 4 mean?
- 4 x 10
- 10 + 10 + 10 + 10
- 10 x 10 x 10 x 10
- 4 tens added together
What does 10³ equal?
- 30
- 300
- 1,000
10² is the same as 10 × 2.
Circle one: True False
Work out 3.4 x 10 to the power 2.
Answer: ______________
How many zeros does 10⁵ have when written as a whole number?
- 4
- 5
- 6
Jay says 10 to the power 4 means four factors of 10 multiplied, which is 10,000. Is Jay right?
Circle one: True False
Aisha says 3.4 x 100 = 34 because you just add two zeros. Is Aisha right?
Circle one: True False
Jamal calculated 2.56 × 10³ and got 25.6. What mistake did he make?
- He moved the decimal one place instead of three
- He moved the decimal left instead of right
- He added a zero instead of moving the decimal
A pattern shows 2.56 x 10 = 25.6 and 2.56 x 100 = 256. What is 2.56 x 10 to the power 4?
- 25,600
- 2,560
- 256,000
- 256

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

10000 · Four factors of 10 give a 1 with four zeros: 10,000.
10 x 10 x 10 x 10 · The exponent 4 means four factors of 10 multiplied: 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 10,000.
1,000 · 10³ means 10 × 10 × 10, which is 1,000.
False · 10² means 10 × 10, which is 100. That is different from 10 × 2, which is 20.
340 · Shifting 3.4 two places left gives 340.
5 · 10⁵ is 100,000, which has five zeros, one for each factor of 10.
True · Jay is right: 10 x 10 x 10 x 10 = 10,000.
False · Aisha is wrong: 3.4 x 100 = 340, and adding zeros fails with decimals.
He moved the decimal one place instead of three · 10³ means move the decimal three places right: 2.56 becomes 2,560. Jamal only moved it once.
25,600 · Each extra zero adds one more place: four places turns 2.56 into 25,600.