Q: How is the number 423,371,720 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 4.2337172 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 423,371,720 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: | 4 | . | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 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 = 4.2337172 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
4.2337172 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 4.2337172 = 423,371,720
| 423,371,718 | 423,371,719 | 423,371,721 | 423,371,722 |
| 4.23371718 x 108 | 4.23371719 x 108 | 4.23371721 x 108 | 4.23371722 x 108 |