Question

The approximate areas of Colorado and Hawaii are listed below:
Colorado: 2.7 x 10^5 square kilometers
Hawaii: 2.83 x 10^4 square kilometers
How much larger is Colorado? Express your answer using scientific notation.

Answer 1

To find out how much larger Colorado is than Hawaii, we need to subtract the area of Hawaii from the area of Colorado.

First, let's express both areas in scientific notation:
- Area of Colorado: \( 2.7 \times 10^5 \) km²
- Area of Hawaii: \( 2.83 \times 10^4 \) km²

To perform the subtraction, it's helpful to express both numbers with a common exponent. The area of Hawaii can be rewritten as:

\[
2.83 \times 10^4 = 0.283 \times 10^5
\]

Now, we can subtract the areas:

\[
2.7 \times 10^5 - 0.283 \times 10^5 = (2.7 - 0.283) \times 10^5 = 2.417 \times 10^5
\]

Now we express our answer in scientific notation. We have:

\[
\text{Colorado is approximately } 2.417 \times 10^5 \text{ square kilometers larger than Hawaii.}
\]

So the final answer is:

\[
\boxed{2.417 \times 10^5} \text{ square kilometers}
\]