Question

Use scientific notation to determine which of these numbers has the least value: 98,789,000; 987,890,000; or 89,987,000. Write your answer in scientific notation, expressed to the exact decimal place.(1 point)

Answer 1

To express the numbers in scientific notation, we rewrite each number by moving the decimal point to the left until we have a number between 1 and 10, and then we multiply by the appropriate power of 10.

1. **98,789,000**:
- Move the decimal 7 places to the left: \( 9.8789 \times 10^7 \)

2. **987,890,000**:
- Move the decimal 8 places to the left: \( 9.8789 \times 10^8 \)

3. **89,987,000**:
- Move the decimal 7 places to the left: \( 8.9987 \times 10^7 \)

Now we compare the scientific notations:

- \( 9.8789 \times 10^7 \)
- \( 9.8789 \times 10^8 \)
- \( 8.9987 \times 10^7 \)

Since \( 10^8 \) is greater than \( 10^7 \), we can eliminate \( 987,890,000 \) from having the least value.

Now we compare \( 9.8789 \times 10^7 \) and \( 8.9987 \times 10^7 \). The coefficients are:

- \( 9.8789 \)
- \( 8.9987 \)

Since \( 8.9987 < 9.8789 \), the number \( 89,987,000 \) has the least value.

Therefore, the answer in scientific notation, expressed to the exact decimal place, is:

**\( 8.9987 \times 10^7 \)**.