Q: How is the number 5,081 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.081 x 103

Why is 5,081 written as 5.081 x 103 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 5,081 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: 5,081
  • New Number: 5.081

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.081
Decimal Count: 123

There are 3 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 = 5.081

b = 3

Now the whole thing:

5.081 x 103

Step 4

Check your work:

103 = 1,000 x 5.081 = 5,081


More Scientific Notation Examples

5,0795,0805,0825,083
5.079 x 1035.08 x 1035.082 x 1035.083 x 103

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