Which statement is a correct description comparing these two numbers?

Question

4.23 × 10^−5 and 4.23 × 10^5

A. One of the numbers in standard form has 5 zeros, while the other number in standard form has 3 zeros.
B. One of the numbers in standard form is positive and the other number in standard form is negative.
C. One of the numbers in standard form is large (>1) and the other number in standard form is small (<1).
D. Both numbers are the same. There are no differences.

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

C. One of the numbers in standard form is large (>1) and the other number in standard form is small (<1).

Explanation:

• \(4.23 \times 10^{-5}\) is equal to 0.0000423, which is less than 1 (a small number).
• \(4.23 \times 10^{5}\) is equal to 423,000, which is greater than 1 (a large number).