Question

Find the difference of 4.5×10 to the -1st and 2×10 to the -2. Adding in subtracting numbers in scientific notation

Answer 1

To find the difference of \( 4.5 \times 10^{-1} \) and \( 2 \times 10^{-2} \), we first need to express both numbers in the same power of ten.

1. Convert \( 2 \times 10^{-2} \) to a power of \( 10^{-1} \):
\[
2 \times 10^{-2} = 0.2 \times 10^{-1}
\]

2. Now we can express the two numbers:
- \( 4.5 \times 10^{-1} \)
- \( 0.2 \times 10^{-1} \)

3. Next, we can perform the subtraction:
\[
4.5 \times 10^{-1} - 0.2 \times 10^{-1} = (4.5 - 0.2) \times 10^{-1} = 4.3 \times 10^{-1}
\]

Thus, the difference of \( 4.5 \times 10^{-1} \) and \( 2 \times 10^{-2} \) is:
\[
\boxed{4.3 \times 10^{-1}}
\]