Grade 8 Adding Numbers in Scientific Notation
Adding in scientific notation for grade 8: match the powers of ten first, then combine the coefficients. Sixteen problems with a full answer key.
Download
Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Add. Give both numbers the same power of 10 first, then write the answer in scientific notation.
- 1.(2.7 x 10^4) + (7.5 x 10^4) =
- 2.(6.8 x 10^5) + (4.8 x 10^4) =
- 3.(3.2 x 10^2) + (5.2 x 10^3) =
- 4.(5.7 x 10^6) + (5.3 x 10^7) =
- 5.(7.5 x 10^9) + (4.2 x 10^9) =
- 6.(5.6 x 10^5) + (2.2 x 10^4) =
- 7.(1.1 x 10^6) + (9.6 x 10^6) =
- 8.(3.5 x 10^9) + (2.4 x 10^9) =
- 9.(7.9 x 10^8) + (7.8 x 10^9) =
- 10.(4.7 x 10^8) + (8.9 x 10^9) =
- 11.(5.4 x 10^8) + (6.5 x 10^7) =
- 12.(3.1 x 10^5) + (1.9 x 10^6) =
- 13.(7.2 x 10^4) + (2.0 x 10^4) =
- 14.(3.5 x 10^3) + (5.8 x 10^3) =
- 15.(8.8 x 10^2) + (5.7 x 10^3) =
- 16.(5.9 x 10^7) + (7.0 x 10^6) =
What this worksheet covers
There are sixteen expressions and equations problems here — one page to work, one page of answers to check against — and Sets B and C repeat the layout with different numbers. The expressions carry exponents, so the order of operations decides the answer and some operands are decimals rather than whole numbers. Problems 6 and 11, for instance, are "(5.6 x 10^5) + (2.2 x 10^4)" and "(5.4 x 10^8) + (6.5 x 10^7)". The sheet sits inside Common Core 8.EE.4, in the grade 8 Expressions & Equations strand.
Skills practiced
Grade 8 expressions and equations means multi-step linear equations, operations in scientific notation and integer exponent rules. Specifically, the problems practice grade 8 Adding Numbers in Scientific Notation. Working the page asks a student to keep the decimal points aligned and apply the order of operations to powers.
About the drill format
A drill is straight practice: 16 problems of the same kind, laid out across the page with working space under each — problem 6, "(5.6 x 10^5) + (2.2 x 10^4)" is typical of the whole page. Solving the same shape of equation sixteen times is how the inverse-operation steps stop being deliberate.
Set A, Set B and Set C
Set A is the original sheet; Sets B and C redraw each problem with the same shape and recomputed answers. Where Set A's problem 9 is "(7.9 x 10^8) + (7.8 x 10^9)", Set B's is "(4.5 x 10^4) + (1.7 x 10^5)".
How to use this worksheet
Work it without a calculator. Every one of the sixteen expressions and equations problems is designed to be done by hand, and reaching for a calculator at grade 8 skips exactly the reasoning being built. Date the drill before filing it. Set C from six weeks later is the cheapest evidence you have that the expressions and equations stuck.
One mistake to watch for
An exponent is multiplied by the base: 4³ is answered 12 instead of 64. Problem 6 on this grade 8 drill page, "(5.6 x 10^5) + (2.2 x 10^4)", is where to look for it.
The superscript is being read as a multiplier.
Write out the repeated product for every power for a few days.
Other grade 8 expressions and equations formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Timed Drill — 8.EE.3 — Scientific Notation Division Practice, 22 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 8 Expressions & Equations Missing Number, 24 problems
- Mixed Review — Grade 8 Subtracting Numbers in Scientific Notation, 16 problems
- Word Problems — Grade 8 Word Problems: Writing and Solving Linear Equations, 14 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 7 Expressions & Equations Drill — grade 7, 30 problems
Drill sheets in other grade 8 topics
No paywall and no account — download any set of this grade 8 expressions and equations drill, and the answers for all sixteen problems are in the matching key.