Q: How is the number 31,273,870 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 3.127387 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 31,273,870 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: | 3 | . | 1 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 0 |
| 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 = 3.127387 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)
b = 7
Now the whole thing:
3.127387 x 107
Check your work:
107 = 10,000,000 x 3.127387 = 31,273,870
| 31,273,868 | 31,273,869 | 31,273,871 | 31,273,872 |
| 3.1273868 x 107 | 3.1273869 x 107 | 3.1273871 x 107 | 3.1273872 x 107 |