I forget how to do this..something about moving the decimal

I dont even know how to start :p what im doing right now has to do with science, finding the magnification of a microscope, but it's math. What it is is: (the negative numbers are like a 10 to the power of -6, not 10 multiplied by -6)

Object height = 2.00 X 10(-6)
Image height = 5.50 X 10(-4)

and the equation is Magnification = image height / object height ( / = over )

Now to my question..what does the 10(-6) mean? I know it has to do with moving the decimal, but i forget exactly what happens.

10(-6) is scientific notation to tells you how many spaces to move the decimal point

If it is negative you more it to the left
example
2.3 x 10(-6) = 0.0000023
The decimal moved 6 places to the left

If it is positive you more it to the right
example
4.6 x 10(3) = 4600
The decimal moved 3 places to the right



m05282012