Written in the form , exponent "b" is chosen such that the absolute value of "a" remains at least one but less than ten formula_2. Normal mathematics convention dictates a minus sign to precede the first of the decimal digits of "a" for a negative number; that of "b" for a number with absolute value between 0 and 1, e.g. minus one half is . There is no need to represent zero in normalized form, the digit 0 is sufficient. The normalized form allows easy comparison of two numbers of the same sign in "a", as the exponent "b" gives the number's order of magnitude.