We can write this distance in scientific notation. Here's how we do it.
Scientific notation is a method of writing very large or very small numbers in a compact form. It always involves a number between 1 and 10 multiplied by a power of 10.
1. We start with the original distance in normal form, which is 84,000,000 miles.
2. We need to move the decimal place after the number 84 to convert it into a number between 1 and 10. So it becomes 8.4.
3. Then, we count how many places we moved the decimal to get from 84,000,000 to 8.4. We moved the decimal 7 places to the left, so our exponent for 10 is 7.
4. Now, we can write our distance in scientific notation. It becomes 8.4 x 10^7.
So, the distance between the planets is 8.4 x 10^7 miles in scientific notation.