Q: How is the number 317,142,462 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 3.17142462 x 108
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 317,142,462 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 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
There are 8 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 = 3.17142462
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
3.17142462 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 3.17142462 = 317,142,462
| 317,142,460 | 317,142,461 | 317,142,463 | 317,142,464 |
| 3.1714246 x 108 | 3.17142461 x 108 | 3.17142463 x 108 | 3.17142464 x 108 |