Question

How do you write 123,000,000 in scientific notation?

Answer 1

`1.23 xx 10^8`

Explanation:

To find the exponent, count the number of time you need to shift the number one digit to the right before the result is less than `10`.

In our example, `123,000,000` needs to be shifted to the right `8` times before the result `1.23` is less than `10`, so `123,000,000 = 1.23 xx 10^8`

If the number you start with is less than `1`, then count the number of times you need to shift it to the left before the result is greater than or equal to `1`. For example, `0.00123 = 1.23 xx 10^(-3)`