Q: How is the number 39 written in Scientific Notation?
A: 3.9 x 101
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 39 is written in scientific notation.
To find a, take the number and move a decimal place to the right one position.
Now, to find b, count how many places to the right of the decimal.
| New Number: | 3 | . | 9 |
| Decimal Count: | 1 |
There are 1 places to the right of the decimal place.
Building upon what we know above, we can now reconstruct the number into scientific notation.
Remember, the notation is: a x 10b
a = 3.9
b = 1
Now the whole thing:
3.9 x 101
Check your work:
101 = 10 x 3.9 = 39