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

Question

0.153 x 10^5

0.153 x 10^-5

1.53 x 10^4

1.53 x 10^-4

Answer 1

To convert the number 15,300 miles into scientific notation, we need to express it 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: \[ 15,300 = 1.53 \times 10^4 \] (We move the decimal point two places to the left, which corresponds to a positive exponent of 10).

Thus, the correct representation of 15,300 miles in scientific notation is:

1.53 x 10^4