137k views
3 votes
How do you write 3.8 in scientific notation?

User Tarique
by
7.8k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

3.8 × 10^{1}

Explanation:

Calculating scientific notation for a positive integer is simple, as it always follows this notation: a x 10b.

Follow the steps below to see how 38 is written in scientific notation.

Step 1

To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.

Original Number: 38

New Number: 3.8

Step 2

Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.

New Number: 3 . 8

Decimal Count: 1

There are 1 places to the right of the decimal place.

Step 3

Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.

Remember, the notation is: a x 10b

a = 3.8

b = 1

Now the whole thing:

3.8 x 10^{1}

Step 4

Check work:

10^{1} = 10 x 3.8 = 38

User Tea Curran
by
7.8k points