91
CH 15  BIG NUMBERS
 Basic Facts
The following table shows the names and values of some big numbers. The
second column contains the Greek prefixes for these big numbers.
Thousand
kilo
1,000
10 3
Million
mega
1,000,000
10 6
Billion
giga
1,000,000,000
10 9
Trillion
tera
1,000,000,000,000
10 12
 Examples
1.
Convert 7.5 million to a regular number.
Using Logic:
In computers, kilo
represents 1,024 (2 10 );
mega means 1,048,576
(2 20 ); and giga stands for
1,073,741,824 (2 30 ).
7.5 million = 7 million + 0.5 million
= 7 million + 1 a million
2
= 7,000,000 + 500,000
= 7,500,000
Using a Process:
Change the decimal point into a comma, and then attach as
many zeros as needed to make the answer come out between 7
and 8 million:
7.5 million = 7,500,000
Ch 15  Big Numbers
92
2.
Convert 7 1 trillion to a regular number.
4
Using Logic:
7 1 trillion = 7 trillion + 1 trillion
4
4
= 7,000,000,000,000 + 250,000,000,000
= 7,250,000,000,000
Using a Process:
First convert the fraction to a decimal: 7.25 trillion
Change the decimal point into a comma, and then attach as
many zeros as needed to make the answer come out a little over
7 trillion:
7,250,000,000,000
3.
Convert 15 3 gigawatts into a regular number with basic units.
4
15 3 gigawatts
4
=
15.75 gigawatts
=
15.75 billion watts
=
15,750,000,000 watts
Ch 15  Big Numbers
93
Homework
Convert each of the following to a regular number:
1.
2.3 million
2.
72.6 billion
3.
4.7 trillion
4.
17.93 million
5.
8.35 billion
6.
2.75 trillion
7.
2 1 million
8.
12 3 billion
9.
7 1 trillion
10.
17 1 million
11.
9 1 billion
12.
1 3 trillion
13.
88 million
14.
7.5 billion
15.
23.7 trillion
16.
2 3 million
17.
15 1 billion
18.
23 1 trillion
2
4
4
4
2
4
4
4
2
Convert each of the following into a regular number with basic units:
19.
8 kilometers
20.
93 megawatts
21.
3 gigaohms
22.
187 kilowatts
23.
850 megabytes
24.
21 gigavolts
25.
43 kiloamps
26.
200 megacycles
27.
7 gigawatts
28.
8.3 kilobytes
29.
15 1 megawatts
30.
2.75 gigacycles
31.
9 1 megaohms
32.
18.79 gigawatts
33.
2 3 kilobytes
4
2
Ch 15  Big Numbers
4
94
Solutions
1.
2,300,000
2.
72,600,000,000
3.
4,700,000,000,000
4.
17,930,000
5.
8,350,000,000
6.
2,750,000,000,000
7.
2,500,000
8.
12,750,000,000
9.
7,250,000,000,000
10.
17,250,000
11.
9,500,000,000
12.
1,750,000,000,000
13.
88,000,000
14.
7,500,000,000
15.
23,700,000,000,000
16.
2,750,000
17.
15,250,000,000
18.
23,500,000,000,000
19.
8,000 meters
20.
93,000,000 watts
21.
3,000,000,000 ohms
22.
187,000 watts
23.
850,000,000 bytes
24.
21,000,000,000 volts
25.
43,000 amps
26.
200,000,000 cycles
27.
7,000,000,000 watts
28.
8,300 bytes
29.
15,500,000 watts
30.
2,750,000,000 cycles
31.
9,250,000 ohms
32.
18,790,000,000 watts
33.
2,750 bytes
“When one door closes, another opens;
but we often look so long and so
regretfully upon the closed
door that we do not see
the one which has
opened for us.”
- Alexander Graham Bell
Ch 15  Big Numbers