Q: How is the number 321,231,260 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 3.2123126 x 108

Why is 321,231,260 written as 3.2123126 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 321,231,260 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: 321,231,260
  • New Number: 3.21231260

Step 2

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

New Number: 3.21231260
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 = 3.2123126 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)

b = 8

Now the whole thing:

3.2123126 x 108

Step 4

Check your work:

108 = 100,000,000 x 3.2123126 = 321,231,260


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3.21231258 x 1083.21231259 x 1083.21231261 x 1083.21231262 x 108

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