Final answer:
To find the sum of (1.2 x 10⁵) + (2.4 x 10⁴), Wendi should convert both numbers to standard form before adding. After conversion, the addition is straightforward, and the result can be expressed in scientific notation if necessary.
Step-by-step explanation:
Wendi is trying to find the sum of (1.2 x 10⁵) + (2.4 x 10⁴). The best step to help Wendi find the sum is to convert both numbers to standard form before adding. It's important because both exponents must have the same value to be added directly. So, for instance, you could convert the numbers to have the same exponent:
(1.2 x 10⁵) becomes (120,000) and
(2.4 x 10⁴) becomes (24,000).
After converting to standard form, the numbers are added as:
(120,000) + (24,000) = 144,000.
The operation (1.36 × 10²) + (47.3 × 10²) is given just as an illustrative example of how to handle scientific notation; we see that both have the same exponent, allowing for direct addition of the coefficients. However, in Wendi's case, we need to convert one of the terms to match the exponent of the other before adding.
To express the final answer in scientific notation, if needed, one would adjust the decimal point. For example, the sum 144,000 is rewritten as 1.44 x 10⁵.