To write the number 0.0503 in scientific notation, you follow these steps:
- Move the decimal point to the right until you have a number between 1 and 10. For 0.0503, you move the decimal point two places to the right to get 5.03.
- Count how many places you moved the decimal point. In this case, it is 2 places.
- Since you moved the decimal to the right, you will use a negative exponent.
So, 0.0503 can be written in scientific notation as:
\[ 5.03 \times 10^{-2} \]