Question

Currently, the largest cruise ship has a tonnage of 225,282 gross tons (GT). Which of the following is a reasonable estimate for the tonnage of this cruise ship?

A. 2 × 10^5 GT
B. 2 × 10^6 GT
C. 2 × 10^-5 GT
D. 2 × 10^-6 GT

Answer 1

A.
`2\ x\ 10^5\ GT`

Explanation:

To solve this problem we use scientific notation.

In this problem we can round the amount 225282 to

200 000

Then, quantity "200,000" has 5 zeros after the number 2.

This means that we can write this amount as:

2 x 100 000 = 2 x 10 * 10 * 10 * 10 * 10. This is the same as:

`2\ x\ 10^5`

This way of writing large numbers is known as scientific notation.

Therefore the correct answer is option A.

`2\ x\ 10^5\ GT`