A skyscraper has a mass of 2.2^ * 10 ^ 5 tons. Another skyscraper in the same town has a mass of 3.7^ * 10 ^ 5 tons. What is the combined mass, in tons, of the two skyscrapers? Use scientific notation to express your answer to 1 decimal place

1 answer

To find the combined mass of the two skyscrapers, we need to add their masses. Using scientific notation, the first skyscraper has a mass of 2.2 * 10^5 tons, and the second skyscraper has a mass of 3.7 * 10^5 tons.

To add these two values, we need to make sure the exponents are the same. We can do this by writing both numbers in the same form.

2.2 * 10^5 tons = 0.22 * 10^6 tons
3.7 * 10^5 tons = 0.37 * 10^6 tons

Now, we can add the two masses:

0.22 * 10^6 tons + 0.37 * 10^6 tons = 0.59 * 10^6 tons

Finally, we can write the combined mass in scientific notation to 1 decimal place:

0.59 * 10^6 tons = 5.9 * 10^5 tons

Therefore, the combined mass of the two skyscrapers is 5.9 * 10^5 tons.