Q: How is the number 231,642 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 2.31642 x 105

Why is 231,642 written as 2.31642 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 231,642 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: 231,642
  • New Number: 2.31642

Step 2

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

New Number: 2.31642
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 = 2.31642

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

2.31642 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 2.31642 = 231,642


More Scientific Notation Examples

231,640231,641231,643231,644
2.3164 x 1052.31641 x 1052.31643 x 1052.31644 x 105

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