Q: How is the number 140,017 written in Scientific Notation?

Why is 140,017 written as 1.40017 x 10⁵ in scientific notation?

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 10^b

Follow the steps below to see how 140,017 is written in scientific notation.

Step 1

To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.

• Original Number: 140,017
• New Number: 1.40017

Step 2

Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.

New Number:	1	.	4	0	0	1	7
Decimal Count:			1	2	3	4	5

There are 5 places to the right of the decimal place.

Step 3

Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.

Remember, the notation is: a x 10^b

a = 1.40017

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

1.40017 x 10⁵

Step 4

Check your work:

10⁵ = 100,000 x 1.40017 = 140,017

More Scientific Notation Examples