Final answer:
The scientific notation of 54,170,100,000 is 5.41701 × 10^10, ensuring all significant figures are represented in the leading number.
Step-by-step explanation:
The scientific notation of 54,170,100,000 is calculated by moving the decimal point to the left until only one non-zero digit remains on the left. For this number, we move the decimal 10 places to the left, which gives us 5.41701. Because we moved the decimal 10 places, we multiply by 10 to the tenth power (1010). The number in scientific notation with the proper number of significant figures is 5.41701 × 1010. It is important to ensure that all significant figures are represented in the leading number when using scientific notation.