Final answer:
MTOW stands for Maximum Take-Off Weight, a limit determined by an aircraft's design. Measurements like MTOW can be represented in decimal form or scientific notation, with the latter being convenient for very large or small numbers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Maximum Take-Off Weight, or MTOW for short, is the heaviest weight at which an aircraft is allowed to take off. This weight restriction is set by the aircraft type certificate or the aircraft's state of registry and is based on the aircraft's design. There are several ways to express measurements, like the MTOW, including decimal form and scientific notation. Exponential notation, commonly referred to as scientific notation, is a method of writing numbers that can represent values that are too big or small to be written in decimal form.
For instance, the Boeing 777-200ER's MTOW of 298,000 kilograms can also be expressed as 2.98 × 105 kg in scientific notation. In contrast, the mass of an average mosquito is approximately 0.0000025 kilograms, a number that would also be more conveniently represented in scientific notation due to its small size.