A certain insect is approximately 4x10^-2 inches long. A second insect is about 1.3x10^-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.

Answer 1

To express the length of an insect we should sum up their lengths in scientific notation: 4.0 × 10^-2 + 1.3 × 10^-1 = 1.7 × 10^-1.
The total length is 1.7 × 10^-1 inches. Answer: \boxed{1.7 \times 10^{-1}}.