0405. What three components must we keep track-of
in storing real numbers (floats)? Illustrate the components using the real
number -809.7032.
-809.7032 = -0.8097032 E3
The three components we need to
consider are the sign (-), the mantissa (the significant digits
following to the right of the decimal point – in this case 8097032) and the characteristic of the exponent (how
many places to the right (or left) we must move the decimal point)