Call wrote the following three equation. He made a mistake.

2.4×10 to the first power equals 240
2.4×10 to the second power equals 2400
2.4× 10 to the third power equals 24000

The mistake is in the pattern is that
The decimal point was moved one too many place values each
The decimal point was moved to the left instead of the right
The decimal point was moved one to fewer place value

The correct pattern can be made by
Moving the decimal point to the left the same number of place values as the exponent
The decimal point to the right the same number of place values as the exponent
Adding zero to the 2.4 each time

1 answer

Let's break down the mistakes Call made with the scientific notation:

  1. The correct expression for \(2.4 \times 10^1\) is: \[ 2.4 \times 10^1 = 24 \] (not 240 as stated).

  2. The correct expression for \(2.4 \times 10^2\) is: \[ 2.4 \times 10^2 = 240 \] (not 2400 as stated).

  3. The correct expression for \(2.4 \times 10^3\) is: \[ 2.4 \times 10^3 = 2400 \] (not 24000 as stated).

Based on the correct calculations, we can see that Call incorrectly moved the decimal point to the right instead of to the left and misrepresented the values.

The correct pattern:

The decimal point should be moved to the right the same number of place values as the exponent.

Therefore, the correct answer is:

  • The decimal point was moved one too many place values each.