Final answer:
The coefficient in the number written in scientific notation 8 x 10^6 is 8. The coefficient is the part of the number in scientific notation that is multiplied by a power of ten, which in this case is 10 to the power of 6.
Step-by-step explanation:
In scientific notation, the coefficient is the number that is multiplied by a power of ten. In the expression 8 x 106, the coefficient is simply the number 8. The power of ten, denoted by the exponent, tells us how many places to move the decimal point. For positive exponents, the decimal point moves to the right, whereas for negative exponents, it moves to the left. The coefficient must be a number greater than or equal to 1 and less than 10 in scientific notation.
When using scientific notation, all the zeroes to the right of the non-zero digits become part of the power of ten and don't appear in the coefficient. This is important in cases where zeros are significant for indicating precision of measurements or computations. In this way, scientific notation also helps in clearly representing significant figures.