Q: How is the number 15,123,234 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 1.5123234 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 15,123,234 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 | . | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 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 = 1.5123234
b = 7
Now the whole thing:
1.5123234 x 107
Check your work:
107 = 10,000,000 x 1.5123234 = 15,123,234
| 15,123,232 | 15,123,233 | 15,123,235 | 15,123,236 |
| 1.5123232 x 107 | 1.5123233 x 107 | 1.5123235 x 107 | 1.5123236 x 107 |