0400. Express the numbers 76,809.78 and –0.000678 in exponential notation. Why is this useful?

76,809.78 = 0.7680978 E5

–0.000678 = -0.678 E-3

The notation is useful because the numbers are in the same format (the 1^st significant digit is to the right of the decimal point), and it highlights the three components we must keep track-of (see later questions)