Q: How is the number 146,251,640 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 1.4625164 x 108
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 146,251,640 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 | . | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
There are 8 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 = 1.4625164 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
1.4625164 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 1.4625164 = 146,251,640
| 146,251,638 | 146,251,639 | 146,251,641 | 146,251,642 |
| 1.46251638 x 108 | 1.46251639 x 108 | 1.46251641 x 108 | 1.46251642 x 108 |