Answer: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 12,500 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: 12,500
New Number: 1.2500
Step 2
Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.
New Number: 1 . 2 5 0 0
Decimal Count: 1 2 3 4
There are 4 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 = 1.25 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)
b = 4
Now the whole thing:
1.25 x 104
Step 4
Check your work:
104 = 10,000 x 1.25 = 12,500
Explanation: