Final answer:
The number 40524000 expressed in scientific notation is 4.0524 x 10^7. This result is obtained by moving the decimal point 7 places to the left, hence the correct answer is option a) 4.0524 x 10^7.
Step-by-step explanation:
To express 40524000 as a rational number in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point to the left until we have a number between 1 and 10, and count the number of places moved. This is equivalent to dividing the number by a power of 10 for each place moved.
40524000 can be written as 4.0524 by moving the decimal point 7 places to the left, which is equivalent to dividing by 10,000,000 or 107. Therefore, in scientific notation, 40524000 is written as 4.0524 x 107.
The correct answer to express 40524000 in scientific notation is: a) 4.0524 x 107.