Final answer:
The factor that represents the power of 10 in the number 5.32 × 10^9 is 10^9. This exponent signifies that 10 is multiplied by itself 9 times. Scientific notation separates the non-exponential part of the number from the exponential part, which expresses how many times 10 is multiplied by itself.
Step-by-step explanation:
The factor in the number 5.32 × 10^9 that represents the power of 10 is 10^9. This notation indicates that we have a number (5.32) multiplied by 10 raised to the power of 9. The power of 10, often referred to as the exponent, tells us how many times we need to multiply 10 by itself. In this case, 10 multiplied by itself 9 times. Handling scientific notation involves separating the non-exponential part (5.32) and managing the exponential part (10^9) separately.
To understand scientific notation further, consider a simple number like 1,000, which in scientific notation would be written as 1 × 10^3, or just 10 cubed. The exponent, 3, represents the number of factors of 10 or, equivalently, the number of zeros in the number when expressed in standard form.
When numbers are given in scientific notation, operations such as multiplication and division can often be simplified by adding or subtracting the exponents of the powers of 10, as long as they are aligned to the same base, which is 10 in most cases.