GCSE · Standard form

Standard form in contextExam-style questions

How standard-form arithmetic solves real scale problems — distances, masses, populations — and why unit conversion has to happen before the powers of ten can do their work.

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19 questions · GCSE (Higher) level · mark scheme and worked solution on each · no sign-up to try

DifficultyAll Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

1
Light travels at $3 \times 10^8$ metres per second. Work out how far light travels in 5 minutes. Give your answer in metres, in standard form.
Level 4 · 3 marksTry it
2
The mass of the Earth is $5.97 \times 10^{24}$ kg. The mass of the Moon is $7.35 \times 10^{22}$ kg.

How many times greater is the mass of the Earth than the mass of the Moon? Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
Level 4 · 3 marksTry it
3
A country has a population of $6.8 \times 10^7$ people and an area of $2.4 \times 10^5$ km².

Work out the number of people per km². Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Level 4 · 3 marksTry it
4
Sound travels at $3.4 \times 10^2$ metres per second.

Work out how far sound travels in $2 \times 10^3$ seconds. Give your answer in standard form.
Level 4 · 2 marksTry it
5
$A = 8 \times 10^9$ and $B = 4 \times 10^5$

How many times bigger is $A$ than $B$ ? Give your answer in standard form.
Level 4 · 2 marksTry it

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