Q: How is the number 5,420 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 5.42 x 103

Why is 5,420 written as 5.42 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 5,420 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: 5,420
  • New Number: 5.420

Step 2

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

New Number: 5.420
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 = 5.42 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)

b = 3

Now the whole thing:

5.42 x 103

Step 4

Check your work:

103 = 1,000 x 5.42 = 5,420


More Scientific Notation Examples

5,4185,4195,4215,422
5.418 x 1035.419 x 1035.421 x 1035.422 x 103

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