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Which is the biggest number? 1. 4 × 10−8 2. 4 × 10−18 3. 3.0 × 10−18 4. 3 × 10−8?

User Artemean
by
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2 Answers

4 votes

Final answer:

The biggest number is 4 × 10−8 because it has the largest exponent that is closest to zero, and a greater coefficient compared to 3 × 10−8.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine which of the given numbers is the biggest, we can compare their powers of 10. The numbers provided in scientific notation are:

  • 4 × 10−8
  • 4 × 10−18
  • 3.0 × 10−18
  • 3 × 10−8

The exponent in scientific notation indicates the number of times the base (10) is used as a factor. A positive exponent means the number is large because the base (10) is multiplied by itself that many times. A negative exponent means the number is small because it represents a division by the base (10) that many times.

When we have negative exponents, the bigger the exponent (closer to zero), the larger the number because we are dividing by a smaller number. For example, 10−8 is larger than 10−18 because we are dividing by 10 eight times in the first case and by 10 eighteen times in the second, which results in a smaller number.

In this case, 4 × 10−8 and 3 × 10−8 have the largest exponents (they are closest to zero), with 4 × 10−8 being the larger of these two since they have the same exponent but 4 is larger than 3. This makes 4 × 10−8 the biggest number among the given options.

User DavisDude
by
7.6k points
2 votes
1. 4x10-8
2.4x10-18
3.0x10-18
4.3x10-8

1. You must do
4x10=40 first (according to "B.O.D.M.A.S")
then - 8 which is 32

2. You must do
4x10=40 (again)
then - 18 which is 22

3. You must do
0x10=0
then - 18 which is -18 (Aka negative 18)

4.You must do
3x10=30
then - 8 which is 22

Lets review what we have:

1. 32
2. 22
3. -18
4. 22

The biggest would be 1

User Edward Kmett
by
6.9k points
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