The approximate populations of Missouri and Wyoming (as of 2019) are listed below:

Missouri: 6.14 x 10^6
Wyoming:5.79 x 10^5
How much greater was the population of Missouri than the population of Wyoming? Express your answer using either standard notation or scientific notation.

1 answer

To find how much greater the population of Missouri is than the population of Wyoming, we need to subtract the population of Wyoming from that of Missouri.

The populations are given as:

  • Missouri: \( 6.14 \times 10^6 \)
  • Wyoming: \( 5.79 \times 10^5 \)

First, we need to express both populations in a compatible format. We can convert Wyoming's population to the same exponent as Missouri's:

\[ 5.79 \times 10^5 = 0.579 \times 10^6 \]

Now we can perform the subtraction:

\[ 6.14 \times 10^6 - 0.579 \times 10^6 = (6.14 - 0.579) \times 10^6 \]

Calculating the subtraction:

\[ 6.14 - 0.579 = 5.561 \]

Now we can express the result in scientific notation:

\[ 5.561 \times 10^6 \]

So, the population of Missouri was approximately \( 5.561 \times 10^6 \) greater than that of Wyoming.