Q: How is the number 172,037,131 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 1.72037131 x 108

Why is 172,037,131 written as 1.72037131 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 172,037,131 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: 172,037,131
  • New Number: 1.72037131

Step 2

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

New Number: 1.72037131
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 = 1.72037131

b = 8

Now the whole thing:

1.72037131 x 108

Step 4

Check your work:

108 = 100,000,000 x 1.72037131 = 172,037,131


More Scientific Notation Examples

172,037,129172,037,130172,037,132172,037,133
1.72037129 x 1081.7203713 x 1081.72037132 x 1081.72037133 x 108

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