NumberKey Facts

Standard Form Rules

Part of Standard Form — GCSE Mathematics

This key facts covers Standard Form Rules within Standard Form for GCSE Mathematics. Revise Standard Form in Number for GCSE Mathematics with 14 exam-style questions and 22 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 3 of 14 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

Topic position

Section 3 of 14

Practice

14 questions

Recall

22 flashcards

Standard Form Rules

Type	Standard Form	Example	Ordinary Number
Large Numbers	a × 10ⁿ (n positive)	3.5 × 10⁶	3,500,000
Small Numbers	a × 10⁻ⁿ (n negative)	2.7 × 10⁻⁴	0.00027
Numbers 1-10	a × 10⁰	5.2 × 10⁰	5.2
Invalid Form	a < 1 or a ≥ 10	15 × 10³ ❌	Should be 1.5 × 10⁴

Keep building this topic

Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Standard Form. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.

What is Standard Form?Method: Converting TO Standard Form Numbers Beyond Imagination Method: Converting FROM Standard Form

Practice Questions for Standard Form

Which of these numbers is written in standard form?

A. 45 × 10³
B. 4.5 × 10⁴
C. 0.45 × 10⁵
D. 450 × 10²

1 markfoundation

Explain why standard form is useful for writing very large or very small numbers.

2 markshigher

Quick Recall Flashcards

What is Standard Form?

A number written as a × 10ⁿ Where: • 1 ≤ a < 10 (at least 1, less than 10) • n is an integer (whole number) Example: 3.5 × 10⁴

Converting TO Standard Form

1. Move decimal to make 1 ≤ a < 10 2. Count places moved 3. Large (left) → positive power 4. Small (right) → negative power 780,000 → 7.8 × 10⁵

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What is Standard Form?

Method: Converting TO Standard Form