Question

Roughly, it takes light less than 0.000000003 of a second to travel a one-meter distance. Express this number in the form of a × 10n where 1 ≤ a < 10 and is a one-digit number.(1 point) Responses 3 × 10−9 3 times 10 superscript negative 9 baseline 3 × 109 3 times 10 superscript 9 baseline 3 × 10−8 3 times 10 superscript negative 8 baseline 3 × 108

Answer 1

To express the number 0.000000003 in scientific notation (a × 10^n), we first need to convert the number into a format where \( 1 ≤ a < 10 \).

The number 0.000000003 can be expressed as:

\[ 3 × 10^{-9} \]

This is because moving the decimal point 9 places to the right gives us the coefficient 3 and the power of ten adjusts to -9 to account for the movement.

Thus, the correct answer is:

3 × 10⁻⁹ (3 times 10 to the power of negative 9).