Q: How is the number 173 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 1.73 x 102

Why is 173 written as 1.73 x 102 in scientific notation?

The purpose of scientific notation is for scientists to write very large, or very small, numbers with ease.

Calculating scientific notation for a positive integer is simple, as it always follows this notation:

a x 10b

Follow the steps below to see how 173 is written in scientific notation.

Step 1

To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.

  • Original Number: 173
  • New Number: 1.73

Step 2

Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.

New Number: 1.73
Decimal Count: 12

There are 2 places to the right of the decimal place.

Step 3

Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.

Remember, the notation is: a x 10b

a = 1.73

b = 2

Now the whole thing:

1.73 x 102

Step 4

Check your work:

102 = 100 x 1.73 = 173


More Scientific Notation Examples

171172174175
1.71 x 1021.72 x 1021.74 x 1021.75 x 102

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