Q: How is the number 51,321,278 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.1321278 x 107

Why is 51,321,278 written as 5.1321278 x 107 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 51,321,278 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: 51,321,278
  • New Number: 5.1321278

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.1321278
Decimal Count: 1234567

There are 7 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 = 5.1321278

b = 7

Now the whole thing:

5.1321278 x 107

Step 4

Check your work:

107 = 10,000,000 x 5.1321278 = 51,321,278


More Scientific Notation Examples

51,321,27651,321,27751,321,27951,321,280
5.1321276 x 1075.1321277 x 1075.1321279 x 1075.132128 x 107

Explore more about the number 51,321,278:


Ask a Question