Q: How is the number 142,120,204 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 1.42120204 x 108

Why is 142,120,204 written as 1.42120204 x 108 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 10b

Follow the steps below to see how 142,120,204 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: 142,120,204
  • New Number: 1.42120204

Step 2

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

New Number: 1.42120204
Decimal Count: 12345678

There are 8 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 10b

a = 1.42120204

b = 8

Now the whole thing:

1.42120204 x 108

Step 4

Check your work:

108 = 100,000,000 x 1.42120204 = 142,120,204


More Scientific Notation Examples

142,120,202142,120,203142,120,205142,120,206
1.42120202 x 1081.42120203 x 1081.42120205 x 1081.42120206 x 108

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