Final answer:
To subtract (3.0 × 10^-2) - (2.5 × 10^-2), you directly subtract the coefficients (3.0 - 2.5) as the exponents are the same and get the result of 0.5 × 10^-2, or 5.0 × 10^-3 after adjusting for significant figures.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the result of (3.0 × 10^-2) - (2.5 × 10^-2), you can begin by recognizing that the exponents of 10 are both to the power of -2, which means they can be combined directly. Performing the subtraction gives us 3.0 - 2.5 = 0.5. Since the exponents are the same, the result is 0.5 × 10^-2 or 5.0 × 10^-3 when adjusted for significant figures. This is because 0.5 can be written as 5.0 when we are considering one significant decimal place, and the exponent needs to be adjusted accordingly from -2 to -3 to maintain the value.