Review #1

Question

The radius of the planet Neptune is approximately 15,300 miles. How is this numbr of miles written in scientific notation?

0.153 x 105

0.153 x 10−5

1.53 x 104

1.53 x 10−4

Answer 1

To express the radius of Neptune, which is approximately 15,300 miles, in scientific notation, we need to rewrite the number in the form \( a \times 10^n \), where \( 1 \leq a < 10 \) and \( n \) is an integer.

1. The number 15,300 can be rewritten as 1.53 by moving the decimal point 4 places to the left.
2. Since the decimal point was moved 4 places to the left, we multiply by \( 10^4 \).

Therefore, 15,300 miles in scientific notation is:

\[ 1.53 \times 10^4 \]

Among the options given, the correct answer is:

1.53 x 10^4