Question

1. Harry is obviously not happy. He added these two numbers written in scientific notation incorrectly. Describe the mistake Harry most likely made.

(4.25 x10^13) + (2.10 x 10^14) = 6.35 x 10^27


2. What is the correct solution to this problem. Show your work!
You can use the ^ to represent the exponents.

Example: 5^2 means 52 (or 5 to the second power).


A. Describe the mistake Harry most likely made.


B. What is the correct solution to this problem. Show your work!

Answer 1

Explanation:

A. It looks like Harry made a mistake when adding the two numbers written in scientific notation. In scientific notation, numbers are written in the form a x 10^b, where a is a number between 1 and 10 and b is an integer exponent. When adding or subtracting numbers written in scientific notation, it's important to make sure that the exponents are the same before performing the operation. In this case, Harry appears to have added the two numbers together without aligning the exponents, resulting in an incorrect answer.

B. Here is the correct solution to the problem:

(4.25 x10^13) + (2.10 x 10^14) =

4.25 x 10^13 + 2.10 x 10^14

= 4.25 x 10^13 + 21 x 10^13

= (4.25 + 21) x 10^13

= 25.25 x 10^13

= 2.525 x 10^14

The correct answer is 2.525 x 10^14.