Q: How is the number 509,901 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.09901 x 105

Why is 509,901 written as 5.09901 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 509,901 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: 509,901
  • New Number: 5.09901

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.09901
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 = 5.09901

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

5.09901 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 5.09901 = 509,901


More Scientific Notation Examples

509,899509,900509,902509,903
5.09899 x 1055.099 x 1055.09902 x 1055.09903 x 105

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