Sam is comparing the half-life of two isotopes of uranium. The half-life of Uranium-238 is 4.5x10^9 years. The half-life of uranium-233 is 1.6x10^5 years. He computed how much greater the half-life of uranium-238 is than that of uranium-233, and his calculator displayed the number 2.81E4. What is the number in scientific notation?
The number 2.81E4 in scientific notation is 2.81 x 10^4.
The number 2.81E4 is already written in scientific notation, where E represents "times ten to the power of." In this case, "E4" means "times ten to the power of 4." So, the number 2.81E4 is equivalent to 2.81 x 10^4.
