How do you multiply or divide by the powers of ten? - Answers

When multiplying by a power of ten the digits of the number move left the same number of place value columns as the power. When dividing by a power of ten the digits of the number move right the same number of place value columns as the power. As this is awkward to do with pencil and paper, the effect on the position of the decimal point is used instead: To multiply by a power of ten the decimal point is moved right the same number of digits as the power of 10; To divide by a power of ten the decimal point is moved left the same number of digits as the power of 10; If there are insufficient digits to do the moving zeros (0) are inserted as necessary.