use scientific notation to determine which of these numbers has the least value: 123,893, 31,892 or 12,786. Write your answer in scientific notation, expressed to the exact decimal place.
To determine which of these numbers has the least value, we need to express them all in scientific notation and compare their exponents.
123,893 = 1.23893 x 10^5
31,892 = 3.1892 x 10^4
12,786 = 1.2786 x 10^4
Comparing the exponents, we can see that 10^4 has the smallest exponent of 4. Therefore, the number 12,786 has the least value in scientific notation.
To determine which number has the least value, we need to convert all the numbers into scientific notation and compare their values based on their exponent.
1. 123,893 can be expressed as 1.23893 × 10^5.
2. 31,892 can be expressed as 3.1892 × 10^4.
3. 12,786 can be expressed as 1.2786 × 10^4.
Comparing the exponents, we can see that 10^4 has the least value. Therefore, the number with the least value is 12,786, which can be written in scientific notation as 1.2786 × 10^4.
To determine which of these numbers has the least value, we can convert them to scientific notation and compare their exponents.
Let's start with the number 123,893. In scientific notation, we write this as 1.23893 x 10^5. The exponent 5 tells us that we move the decimal point 5 places to the right to get the original number.
Next, let's convert 31,892 into scientific notation. It becomes 3.1892 x 10^4, where the exponent 4 indicates that we move the decimal point 4 places to the right.
Finally, let's convert 12,786 into scientific notation. It becomes 1.2786 x 10^4, where again the exponent 4 means we move the decimal point 4 places to the right.
Now, we can directly compare the exponents of these numbers. The number with the smallest exponent has the least value. In this case, both 3.1892 x 10^4 and 1.2786 x 10^4 have the same exponent of 4, while 1.23893 x 10^5 has a larger exponent of 5.
Thus, the number with the least value is 3.1892 x 10^4, expressed in scientific notation to the exact decimal place.