4.66×10^-⁵ - 7.34×10^-⁷

Question

A. -2.68 × 10²
B. 2.68 × 10²
C. 4.5866 × 10^-⁵
D. -4.5866 × 10^-⁵

Answer 1

To subtract these two numbers, we simply subtract the numerical parts and keep the same exponent:

(4.66×10^-⁵) - (7.34×10^-⁷) = 4.66×10^-⁵ - 0.734×10^-⁶

Since we have different exponents, we need to adjust one of the numbers so that they have the same exponent. We can move the decimal point one place to the right in the second number:

4.66×10^-⁵ - 0.0734×10^-⁵

Now we can subtract the numerical parts:

4.66 - 0.0734 = 4.5866

Since we kept the same exponent (10^-⁵), the final answer is:

4.5866 × 10^-⁵

Therefore, the correct answer is C. 4.5866 × 10^-⁵.