Grade 8 Mathematics, Quarter 1, Unit 1.

Rules of Exponents and Scientific Notation

Overview
Number of instructional days:

15

(1 day = 4560 minutes)

Content to be learned
Understand properties of integer exponents.

Understand the rules for division with

exponents. (No Calculator)
Express very large or very small quantities
using scientific notation. (No
Calculator)
Enter and interpret scientific notation on a
calculator or other technology using E or
EE (scientific notation), *
(multiplication), and
^ (exponent) symbols. (Calculator)
Perform calculations (add, subtract, multiply and
divide) with numbers in scientific notation
and standard form. Ex: 120 + 3x10^4 (No
Calculator)
Express solutions to calculations in scientific
notation or standard form. (No Calculator)

Mathematical practices to be integrated

4. Model with mathematics.
Identify important quantities in a practical
situation.
Interpret their mathematical results in the
context of the situation.
Reflect on whether results make sense.
6. Attend to precision.
Calculate accurately and efficiently, express
numerical answers with a degree of precision
appropriate for the context.
Specify units of measure.
7. Look for and make use of structure.
Look closely to discern a pattern

See complicated things as single objects or

composed of several objects.

8. Look for and express regularity in

repeated reasoning.

Understand properties of integer

exponents by examining patterns of
exponents.

Understand that multiplying by a power of 10

results in a repeated movement of the
decimal.

Choose appropriate units for measurements of

very large or very small quantities. (No
Calculator)
Estimate how much larger or smaller numbers
expressed in scientific notation are to one
another. (No Calculator)
Southern Rhode Island Regional Collaborative with process support from The Charles A. Dana Center at
the University of Texas at Austin
Revised 2014-2015

Essential questions

How can the rules of exponents

make calculating values easier?

How could you use patterns to explain rules of

exponents?

Why is scientific notation needed?

How do you know when a number is

properly written in scientific notation?

How do you convert between standard

form and scientific notation?

How do you compare two numbers

written in scientific notation?

Written Curriculum
Common Core State Standards for Mathematical Content
Expressions and Equations

8.EE

Work with radicals and integer exponents.

8.EE.1

Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical
expressions. For example, 32 35 = 33 = 1/33 = 1/27.

8.EE.3

Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate
very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the
other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 108 and the population
of the world as 7 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.

8.EE.4

Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where
both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of
appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters
per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by
technology.

Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice

4

Model with mathematics.

Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in
everyday life, society, and the workplace. In early grades, this might be as simple as writing an addition
equation to describe a situation. In middle grades, a student might apply proportional reasoning to plan a
school event or analyze a problem in the community. By high school, a student might use geometry to solve a
design problem or use a function to describe how one quantity of interest depends on another. Mathematically
proficient students who can apply what they know are comfortable making assumptions and approximations
to simplify a complicated situation, realizing that these may need revision later. They are able to identify
important quantities in a practical situation and map their relationships using such tools as diagrams, two-way
tables, graphs, flowcharts and formulas. They can analyze those relationships mathematically to draw
conclusions. They routinely interpret their mathematical results in the context of the situation and reflect on
whether the results make sense, possibly improving the model if it has not served its purpose.

Southern Rhode Island Regional Collaborative with process support from The Charles A. Dana Center at
the University of Texas at Austin
Revised 2014-2015

Attend to precision.

Mathematically proficient students try to communicate precisely to others. They try to use clear definitions in
discussion with others and in their own reasoning. They state the meaning of the symbols they choose,
including using the equal sign consistently and appropriately. They are careful about specifying units of
measure, and labeling axes to clarify the correspondence with quantities in a problem. They calculate
accurately and efficiently, express numerical answers with a degree of precision appropriate for the problem
context. In the elementary grades, students give carefully formulated explanations to each other. By the time
they reach high school they have learned to examine claims and make explicit use of definitions.
7

Look for and make use of structure.

Mathematically proficient students look closely to discern a pattern or structure. Young students, for example,
might notice that three and seven more is the same amount as seven and three more, or they may sort a
collection of shapes according to how many sides the shapes have. Later, students will see 7 8 equals the
well remembered 7 5 + 7 3, in preparation for learning about the distributive property. In the expression
x2 + 9x + 14, older students can see the 14 as 2 7 and the 9 as 2 + 7. They recognize the significance of an
existing line in a geometric figure and can use the strategy of drawing an auxiliary line for solving problems.
They also can step back for an overview and shift perspective. They can see complicated things, such as some
algebraic expressions, as single objects or as being composed of several objects. For example, they can see 5
3(x y)2 as 5 minus a positive number times a square and use that to realize that its value cannot be more
than 5 for any real numbers x and y.
8

Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Mathematically proficient students notice if calculations are repeated, and look both for general methods and
for shortcuts. Upper elementary students might notice when dividing 25 by 11 that they are repeating the same
calculations over and over again, and conclude they have a repeating decimal. By paying attention to the
calculation of slope as they repeatedly check whether points are on the line through (1, 2) with slope 3, middle
school students might abstract the equation (y 2)/(x 1) = 3. Noticing the regularity in the way
2
3
2
terms cancel when expanding (x 1)(x + 1), (x 1)(x + x + 1), and (x 1)(x + x + x + 1) might lead them
to the general formula for the sum of a geometric series. As they work to solve a problem, mathematically
proficient students maintain oversight of the process, while attending to the details. They continually evaluate
the reasonableness of their intermediate results.

Clarifying the Standards

Prior Learning
Students have denoted whole number powers of 10 with exponential notation since grade 5, and they have
seen the pattern in the number of zeros when powers of 10 are multiplied.
In grade 6, students looked at whole number exponents. They also worked with operations of fractions. In
grade 7, students worked with integers and fractions.
Current Learning
In grade 8, this unit is a major cluster. Students know and apply properties of integer exponents and create
2
-5
-3
3
equivalent expressions. (Know that 3 3 = 3 = 1/3 = 1/27) They express very large or very small
quantities using powers of 10. Students understand what scientific notation looks like through technology.
They choose units of appropriate size for measurements.
Southern Rhode Island Regional Collaborative with process support from The Charles A. Dana Center at
the University of Texas at Austin
Revised 2014-2015

Future Learning
In high school, students will extend the properties of exponents to irrational exponents. They will rewrite
and evaluate expressions involving radicals and rational number exponents.

Additional Findings
According to Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, students develop an understanding of
large numbers and recognize and approximately use exponential, scientific, and calculator notation.
(p. 393)
According to PARCC Model Content Framework, Scientific notation presents opportunities for
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strategically using appropriate tools. For example, the computation (1.73 10 ) (1.73 10 ) can be
done quickly with a calculator by squaring 1.73 and then using properties of exponents to determine the
exponent of the product by inspection. (p. 37)
8.EE.1 PARCC Evidence Tables Clarifications:
1) Tasks do not have a context
2) Tasks center on the properties and equivalence, not on simplification. For example, a task might ask a
student to classify expressions according to whether or not they are equivalent to a given expression.
3) 50% of expressions should involve one property, 30% of expressions should involve two properties,
20% of expressions should involve three properties.
4) Tasks should involve a single common base
8.EE.4-1 PARCC Evidence Tables Clarifications:
1) Tasks have thin context or no context
2) Rules or conventions for significant figures are not assessed.
3) 20% of tasks involve both decimal and scientific notation, e.g. write 120 +
notation.

3 104 in scientific

8.EE.4-2 PARCC Evidence Tables Clarifications:

1) Task have thin context
2) The testing interface can provide students with a calculation aid of the specified kind for these tasks.
3) Tasks may require students to recognize 3.7E-2 (or 3.7e-2) from technology as 3.7 102

Southern Rhode Island Regional Collaborative with process support from The Charles A. Dana Center at
the University of Texas at Austin
Revised 2014-2015