Q: How is the number 51,142 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.1142 x 104

Why is 51,142 written as 5.1142 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 51,142 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: 51,142
  • New Number: 5.1142

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.1142
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 = 5.1142

b = 4

Now the whole thing:

5.1142 x 104

Step 4

Check your work:

104 = 10,000 x 5.1142 = 51,142


More Scientific Notation Examples

51,14051,14151,14351,144
5.114 x 1045.1141 x 1045.1143 x 1045.1144 x 104

Explore more about the number 51,142:


Ask a Question