Question

The approximate areas of New Jersey and Puerto Rico are listed below:
New Jersey: 2, point, 2, 6, times, 10, to the power 42.26×10
4
square kilometers
Puerto Rico: 5, point, 3, 3, times, 10, cubed5.33×10
3
square kilometers
What's the difference between the areas of the two states? Express your answer using scientific notation.

Answer 1

Convert both to the same power of ten:
2.26×10^4 − 5.33×10^3 = 2.26×10^4 − 0.533×10^4 = (2.26 − 0.533)×10^4 = 1.727×10^4.

Difference = 1.727×10^4 square kilometers (≈ 17,270 km^2).