Q: How is the number 87 written in Scientific Notation?

 A: 8.7 x 101

Why is 87 written as 8.7 x 101 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 87 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: 87
  • New Number: 8.7

Step 2

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

New Number: 8.7
Decimal Count: 1

There are 1 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 = 8.7

b = 1

Now the whole thing:

8.7 x 101

Step 4

Check your work:

101 = 10 x 8.7 = 87


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