Q: How is the number 23,212 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 2.3212 x 104

Why is 23,212 written as 2.3212 x 104 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 23,212 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: 23,212
  • New Number: 2.3212

Step 2

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

New Number: 2.3212
Decimal Count: 1234

There are 4 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 = 2.3212

b = 4

Now the whole thing:

2.3212 x 104

Step 4

Check your work:

104 = 10,000 x 2.3212 = 23,212


More Scientific Notation Examples

23,21023,21123,21323,214
2.321 x 1042.3211 x 1042.3213 x 1042.3214 x 104

Explore more about the number 23,212:


Ask a Question