The problem states that the weight of a shrimp is approximaterly 0.00027 grams, and that a fishing company catches about 3.1 10^9 shrimp per year.
We are asked to find the weight of that amount of shrimp using scientific notation.
so we start by writing 0.00027 grams in scientific notation:
0.00027 = 2.7 10^(-4) This is the number 2.7 divided 4 times by ten.
and now we multiply the weight of one shrimp times the number of shrimp that was caught in order to find the total weight of shrimp for the year;
weight one shrimp times number of shrimp
2.7 10^(-4) * 3,1 10^9
we complete the product of the numerical factors 2.7 times 3.1 = 8.37, and then we do the product of the powers of 10, using the rules for product of powers with the same base (10): 10^(-4) * 10^9 = 10^(-4+9) = 10^5
Then, our complete answer is:
The weight of the amount of shrimp caught for the year totals 8.37 10^5 grams