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4 votes
(5.5 * 10^-6 + 6.3 * 10^-6)^2

User JuanPi
by
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1 Answer

2 votes

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Answer:

  • exact: 1.3924×10^-10
  • rounded to 2 sf: 1.4×10^-10

Explanation:

The factor 10^-6 can be brought out:

((5.5 +6.3)×10^-6)^2 = (11.8^2)×10^-12 = 1.3924×10^-10

Often, a problem like this wants you to round to a precision appropriate to the given values. Here, that is 2 significant figures:

1.4×10^-10

_____

Additional comment

Your scientific or graphing calculator can do this nicely, even showing you the result in scientific notation. A spreadsheet can do the same.

The usual rules of exponents apply.

(a^b)(a^c) = a^(b+c)

(ab)^c = (a^c)(b^c)

(a^b)^c = a^(bc)

User Russell Davis
by
5.7k points