Question

What is the best estimate for 8.9•10^8 times 3.3 •10^4 written in scientific notation?

Answer 1

`2.9\,\,\,10^(13)`

Explanation:

Multiply the significant figures part of the numbers among themselves, and also the power of ten part among themselves, and finally, if there is another reduction of the significant figure part to be made in order to get the number in scientific notation, complete it as shown below:

`8.9\,\,\,10^8\,*\,3.3\,\,\,\,10^4=29.37\,\,\,10^(8+4)=29.37\,\,\,10^(12)= 2.937\,\,\,10^(13)`

Since we are expected to use the rules for product of numbers preserving the number of significant figures, considering that the two original numbers have just two of them, we need to reduce our final answer also to just two significant figures, that is:

`2.9\,\,\,10^(13)`