Q: How is the number 685,870 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 6.8587 x 105

Why is 685,870 written as 6.8587 x 105 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 685,870 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: 685,870
  • New Number: 6.85870

Step 2

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

New Number: 6.85870
Decimal Count: 12345

There are 5 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 = 6.8587 (Please notice any zeroes on the end have been removed)

b = 5

Now the whole thing:

6.8587 x 105

Step 4

Check your work:

105 = 100,000 x 6.8587 = 685,870


More Scientific Notation Examples

685,868685,869685,871685,872
6.85868 x 1056.85869 x 1056.85871 x 1056.85872 x 105

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