This handout covers three major topics which you will need to understand for ES 10: powers of 10 and logarithms, scientific notation, and dimensional analysis. It is designed as a primer, not to give full details, but to try to give enough examples that someone who had never seen these three subjects could basically figure out how they work. If you already know all there is to know about powers of 10 and logs, etc., feel free to skip this handout, and move on to doing the homework. However, if you aren't comfortable with these topics, you should probably read this handout before going on to do the homework, as it should help (if I don't make you confused!). Nothing in here will specifically be on the exams, but you will almost certainly need to understand these topics to do well on the homeworks and exams.
If you have questions on anything in this handout, please talk with me after class or send me e-mail at ganderson@ucsd.edu
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