Q: How is the number 172,101 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 1.72101 x 105

Why is 172,101 written as 1.72101 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 10b

Follow the steps below to see how 172,101 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: 172,101
  • New Number: 1.72101

Step 2

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

New Number: 1.72101
Decimal Count: 12345

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 10b

a = 1.72101

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

1.72101 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 1.72101 = 172,101


More Scientific Notation Examples

172,099172,100172,102172,103
1.72099 x 1051.721 x 1051.72102 x 1051.72103 x 105

Explore more about the number 172,101:


Ask a Question