A certain insect is approximately 4×10^−2 inches long. A second insect is about 1.3×10^−1 inches long. What is the total length of the two insects in inches? Use scientific notation to express your answer to 1 decimal place.

1 answer

To find the total length of the two insects, we need to add the lengths of the insects together. The length of the first insect is 4×10^(-2) inches and the length of the second insect is 1.3×10^(-1) inches.

Adding these two lengths together, we get:

4×10^(-2) + 1.3×10^(-1) = 0.04 + 0.13 = 0.17

Since both numbers are already in scientific notation, we don't need to convert them.

Therefore, the total length of the two insects is 0.17 inches.