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Junior Cycle · Junior Cycle Maths

Junior Cycle Maths: Indices & scientific notation

How often Indices & scientific notation comes up on the Maths papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Indices & scientific notation, Higher Level(7 marks)

Quick ones on Indices & scientific notation.

(a)Simplify 2⁵ × 2³ ÷ 2⁴, leaving the answer in index form.
  1. 2¹²
  2. 2⁴
  3. 4⁴
(b)Evaluate 8^(2/3).
  1. 2
  2. 16/3
  3. 4
(c)Evaluate 5⁻².
  1. 1/25
  2. −10
  3. −25
Show the answers

(a) 2⁴

(b) 4

(c) 1/25

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Indices & scientific notation.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q8
2025Not asked
2024Not asked
2023Q9
2022Q7

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Indices & scientific notation questions

Indices & scientific notation, 2 marks

Write 0.00036 in the form a × 10ⁿ, where 1 ≤ a < 10.

  1. 3.6 × 10⁴
  2. 36 × 10⁻⁵
  3. 3.6 × 10⁻⁴
Show the answer

3.6 × 10⁻⁴

Move the point 4 places right to get 3.6. A number between 0 and 1 has a negative power of 10, so 3.6 × 10⁻⁴. 36 is not between 1 and 10.

Indices & scientific notation, 3 marks

Work out (4 × 10⁵) × (5 × 10³) in scientific notation.

  1. 2 × 10¹⁵
  2. 2 × 10⁹
  3. 2 × 10⁸
Show the answer

2 × 10⁹

4 × 5 = 20 and 10⁵ × 10³ = 10⁸, giving 20 × 10⁸. But 20 is not between 1 and 10: 20 = 2 × 10¹, so the answer is 2 × 10⁹.

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