Q: How is the number 542,306,099 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 5.42306099 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 542,306,099 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 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 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 = 5.42306099
b = 8
Now the whole thing:
5.42306099 x 108
Check your work:
108 = 100,000,000 x 5.42306099 = 542,306,099
| 542,306,097 | 542,306,098 | 542,306,100 | 542,306,101 |
| 5.42306097 x 108 | 5.42306098 x 108 | 5.423061 x 108 | 5.42306101 x 108 |