Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
The scientific notation of the number 5,300,000 is 5.3 × 106.
The scientific notation of the number 0.0000000089 is 8.9 × 10-9.
A. 3.6 × 101
B. 3.6 × 103
C. 3.6 × 102
D. 3.6 × 10-1
Correct Answer: B
Step 1: Scientific notation is a method of writing numbers as the product of two factors where the
first factor is a number greater than or equal to 1 but less than 10 and the second factor is a power of 10.
Step 2: The first factor in the scientific notation of 3,600 is 3.6. [Move the decimal point to get a factor greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10.]
Step 3: The second factor is 103. [The decimal point is moved 3 places to the left. Use this number as the power of 10.]
Step 4: The representation of one hour in scientific notation is 3.6 × 103 seconds.