Which of the following is 0.0000000708 written in scientific notation?
a. 7.08 x 10^-8***
b. 7.8 x 10^-8
c. 708 x 10^-10
d. 70.08 x 10^-9
To write the number 0.0000000708 in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point to after the first non-zero digit and then multiply by a power of 10.
Starting with 0.0000000708, the first non-zero digit is 7. So we move the decimal point 7 places to the right.
This gives us 7.08.
Since we moved the decimal point 7 places to the right, the power of 10 is -7.
Therefore, 0.0000000708 in scientific notation is written as 7.08 x 10^-8.
So the correct answer is a. 7.08 x 10^-8.
To convert a number into scientific notation, follow these steps:
1. Start by moving the decimal point in the original number to the right or left to get a number between 1 and 10. Count the number of places you move the decimal point. If you move the decimal point to the left, the exponent will be positive. If you move the decimal point to the right, the exponent will be negative.
2. The number you obtain in step 1 will be the coefficient of the scientific notation. The original number will be multiplied by 10 raised to the power of the exponent.
Now let's apply these steps to the given number, 0.0000000708:
1. Move the decimal point to the right until we have a number between 1 and 10. In this case, we need to move the decimal point 8 places to the right, resulting in 7.08.
2. As we moved the decimal point to the right, we will have a negative exponent. The number we obtained, 7.08, will be the coefficient of the scientific notation, and 10 will be raised to the power of -8.
Therefore, the number 0.0000000708 in scientific notation is option a. 7.08 x 10^-8.