Q: How is the number 372,159,386 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 3.72159386 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 372,159,386 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 | . | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| 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 = 3.72159386
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
3.72159386 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 3.72159386 = 372,159,386
| 372,159,384 | 372,159,385 | 372,159,387 | 372,159,388 |
| 3.72159384 x 108 | 3.72159385 x 108 | 3.72159387 x 108 | 3.72159388 x 108 |