Q: How is the number 509,236 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.09236 x 105

Why is 509,236 written as 5.09236 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 509,236 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: 509,236
  • New Number: 5.09236

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.09236
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 = 5.09236

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

5.09236 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 5.09236 = 509,236


More Scientific Notation Examples

509,234509,235509,237509,238
5.09234 x 1055.09235 x 1055.09237 x 1055.09238 x 105

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