Order of magnitude refers to a number expressed to the power of 10. This is also known as scientific notation, except the order of magnitude drops the "x 10" part of the scientific notation. If you have a ratio, you simply need to perform the division on the ratio to find the number expressed as a decimal. Then you need to convert the decimal to the power of 10. This allows you to express the ratio in a number form, but eliminates the need to use unnecessary zeros at the beginning of the decimal that could make reading the number confusing.
Instructions
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1
Find the ratio you want to determine the order of magnitude of. For example, consider 5:10,000,000.
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2
Divide your ratio. In the example 5 divided by 10,000,000 equals 0.0000005.
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3
Count the number of numbers there are up to and including your first nonzero number. In the example, there are seven numbers. This number is the order of magnitude. Because the result is a decimal that is smaller than one, the exponent is also negative. In the example, the order of magnitude is -7.