IB Math AA SL 1.1 - Standard Notion

This IB Math AA SL 1.1 – Standard Notation slide deck provides a clear, accessible introduction to expressing numbers in scientific form, building fluency with one of the core foundational tools used throughout IB Mathematics. Beginning with the purpose and structure of standard notation, students are guided to understand why exceptionally large or small numbers are rewritten in the form a × 10ᵏ, with emphasis on the conditions 1 ≤ a < 10 and k as any integer.

The lesson progresses from conceptual understanding into guided procedures, demonstrating step-by-step how to convert everyday values into scientific notation by shifting decimal places and identifying whether the exponent should be positive or negative. Students then reverse the process, converting scientific notation back into standard form by expanding powers of 10, reinforcing their number sense and comfort with place value.

Once fluency with form is established, the deck introduces arithmetic operations—multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction—within scientific notation, emphasizing efficient strategies such as aligning exponents before combining values and adjusting results back into proper standard notation when required. Worked examples and structured practice tasks provide scaffolded learning that mirrors IB-style exam questions.

With practical tips, curated examples, and solution-modeled practice problems, this slide deck is designed for classroom instruction, independent review, or tutoring support. Students finish with strengthened procedural skills and mathematical confidence, ready to apply standard notation consistently across algebraic modeling, scientific contexts, and IB assessments.