Q: How is the number 390,842 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 3.90842 x 105

Why is 390,842 written as 3.90842 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 390,842 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: 390,842
  • New Number: 3.90842

Step 2

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

New Number: 3.90842
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 = 3.90842

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

3.90842 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 3.90842 = 390,842


More Scientific Notation Examples

390,840390,841390,843390,844
3.9084 x 1053.90841 x 1053.90843 x 1053.90844 x 105

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