Q: How is the number 538 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.38 x 102

Why is 538 written as 5.38 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 538 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: 538
  • New Number: 5.38

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.38
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 = 5.38

b = 2

Now the whole thing:

5.38 x 102

Step 4

Check your work:

102 = 100 x 5.38 = 538


More Scientific Notation Examples

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5.36 x 1025.37 x 1025.39 x 1025.4 x 102

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