Q: How is the number 54,123,682 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 5.4123682 x 107
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 54,123,682 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: | 5 | . | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
There are 7 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 = 5.4123682
b = 7
Now the whole thing:
5.4123682 x 107
Check your work:
107 = 10,000,000 x 5.4123682 = 54,123,682
| 54,123,680 | 54,123,681 | 54,123,683 | 54,123,684 |
| 5.412368 x 107 | 5.4123681 x 107 | 5.4123683 x 107 | 5.4123684 x 107 |