A giant sequoia (scientific name: Sequoiadendron giganteum) is exactly as its name suggests- giant! Currently, the "General Sherman" tree, thought to be one of the largest giant sequoias in the world, resides in the Sequoia National Park, which is located in northern California. The tree's largest circumference, located near the base of the trunk, measures approximately 102.6 feet!

Question

Use scientific notation to represent the circumference of the General Sherman's trunk in inches. Include all of your calculations in your final answer.

Answer 1

To convert the circumference of the General Sherman tree from feet to inches, we first need to know the conversion factor: there are 12 inches in a foot.

Given the largest circumference of the General Sherman tree is approximately 102.6 feet, we can convert this measurement to inches as follows:

\[ \text{Circumference in inches} = \text{Circumference in feet} \times \text{Inches per foot} \] \[ \text{Circumference in inches} = 102.6 , \text{feet} \times 12 , \text{inches/foot} \]

Calculating this:

\[ 102.6 \times 12 = 1231.2 , \text{inches} \]

Now, we want to express 1231.2 in scientific notation. Scientific notation is generally expressed in the format:

\[ a \times 10^n \]

where \( 1 \leq a < 10 \) and \( n \) is an integer.

To convert 1231.2 to scientific notation:

1. Move the decimal point in 1231.2 one place to the left to get 1.2312.
2. Since we moved the decimal one place to the left, we increase the exponent of 10 by 1.

Thus, \( 1231.2 \) in scientific notation is:

\[ 1.2312 \times 10^3 \]

So, the circumference of the General Sherman tree in inches, expressed in scientific notation, is:

\[ \boxed{1.2312 \times 10^3} \]

Answer 2

can you do it without all the symbols and slashes

Answer 3

Sure! Let's explain the conversion step by step without using symbols and slashes.

To convert the circumference of the General Sherman tree from feet to inches, we first note that there are 12 inches in one foot.

The largest circumference of the General Sherman tree is approximately 102.6 feet. To find the circumference in inches, we multiply the number of feet by the number of inches in each foot.

So, we calculate:

102.6 feet multiplied by 12 inches per foot gives us the total circumference in inches.

Performing the multiplication:

102.6 multiplied by 12 equals 1231.2 inches.

Now, we want to express 1231.2 in scientific notation. In scientific notation, we write a number as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of ten.

To write 1231.2 in scientific notation, we move the decimal point one place to the left, resulting in 1.2312. Because we moved the decimal point one place, we increase the exponent of ten by one.

Therefore, 1231.2 can be expressed as 1.2312 multiplied by ten raised to the power of three.

In conclusion, the circumference of the General Sherman tree in inches, represented in scientific notation, is 1.2312 times ten raised to the power of three.