Final answer:
The division of 15 million by 30 billion in scientific notation is 5 × 10⁻⁴. This is achieved by expressing both numbers in scientific notation and then performing the division.
Step-by-step explanation:
To express the number 15 million divided by 30 billion in scientific notation, we will first write these numbers using exponents and then perform the division. 15 million can be written as 1.5 × 10⁷ and 30 billion as 3 × 10¹¹.
The division of these two numbers is (1.5 × 10⁷) / (3 × 10¹¹) = 0.5 × 10⁷ / 10¹¹. Since dividing by a power of ten subtracts that exponent from the numerator's exponent, we have 0.5 × 10⁷-11 = 0.5 × 10⁻⁴. This is equivalent to 5 × 10¹, where we have moved the decimal point one place to the right to retain one non-zero digit in front of the decimal point.
Thus, 15 million divided by 30 billion in scientific notation is 5 × 10⁻⁴.