Visible blue light has a wavelength of about 0.0000475 centimeters.

Question

What is this measurement written in scientific notation?
A.
4.75 × 10-4 centimeters
B.
4.75 × 104 centimeters
C.
4.75 × 105 centimeters
D.
4.75 × 10-5 centimeters

Answer 1

To convert the measurement of 0.0000475 centimeters into scientific notation, we need to express it in the form of \( a \times 10^n \), where \( 1 \leq a < 10 \) and \( n \) is an integer.

The number 0.0000475 can be rewritten as: \[ 0.0000475 = 4.75 \times 10^{-5} \]

This is because we move the decimal point to the right 5 places to convert it to a number between 1 and 10, which gives us \( 4.75 \), and we adjust for the movement of the decimal by using \( 10^{-5} \).

So the correct answer is: D. 4.75 × 10^-5 centimeters.