Q: How is the number 12,968,536 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 1.2968536 x 107
The purpose of scientific notation is for scientists to write very large, or very small, numbers with ease.
Calculating scientific notation for a positive integer is simple, as it always follows this notation:
a x 10b
Follow the steps below to see how 12,968,536 is written in scientific notation.
To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.
Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.
| New Number: | 1 | . | 2 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
There are 7 places to the right of the decimal place.
Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.
Remember, the notation is: a x 10b
a = 1.2968536
b = 7
Now the whole thing:
1.2968536 x 107
Check your work:
107 = 10,000,000 x 1.2968536 = 12,968,536
| 12,968,534 | 12,968,535 | 12,968,537 | 12,968,538 |
| 1.2968534 x 107 | 1.2968535 x 107 | 1.2968537 x 107 | 1.2968538 x 107 |