Final answer:
The circumference of Pluto is 7,232,000 meters, which is represented as 7.232 × 10⁶ meters in scientific notation.
Step-by-step explanation:
To express the circumference of Pluto in scientific notation, you start by placing the decimal after the first non-zero digit and count the number of places the decimal has moved. The circumference of Pluto is 7,232,000 meters. In scientific notation, this is written as 7.232 × 10⁶ meters.
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of the conversion process:
- Identify the first non-zero digit in 7,232,000, which is 7.
- Place the decimal point after this digit to get 7.232
- Count how many places you moved the decimal point; in this case, it is 6 places to the left.
- Write the number as a product of the first part and 10 raised to the power of the number of decimal places moved, which is 106.
- The final answer in scientific notation is 7.232 × 10⁶ meters.
Remember, scientific notation is useful for expressing very large or very small numbers in a simplified format.