A certain insect is approximately 4 * 10 ^ - 2 inches long. A second insect is about 1.3 * 10 ^ - 1 total length of the two insects in inches? Use scientific notation to express your answer to 1 decim

To find the total length of the two insects, we can add their lengths together.

In scientific notation, the length of the first insect is 4 * 10^(-2) inches.
The length of the second insect is 1.3 * 10^(-1) inches.

We can add the two lengths to get the total length:
4 * 10^(-2) + 1.3 * 10^(-1)

To add these two numbers, we need to convert them to the same power of 10. Since 10^(-1) is the larger power of 10, we can express the first insect's length in terms of 10^(-1):
4 * 10^(-2) = (4/10) * 10^(-1) = 0.4 * 10^(-1)

Now we can add the two lengths:
0.4 * 10^(-1) + 1.3 * 10^(-1) = 1.7 * 10^(-1)

So the total length of the two insects is approximately 1.7 * 10^(-1) inches.

To find the total length of the two insects, we need to add their lengths.

Given:
Length of the first insect = 4 * 10^(-2) inches
Length of the second insect = 1.3 * 10^(-1) inches

Step 1: Add the lengths of the insects.
(4 * 10^(-2)) + (1.3 * 10^(-1))

Step 2: Since the exponents are the same, we can perform addition directly.
= 4 * 10^(-2 + (-1.87))

Step 3: Add the mantissas and adjust the exponent.
= 4 * 10^(-3.87)

Step 4: Express the answer in scientific notation to 1 decimal place.
≈ 4 * 10^(-3.9) inches

To find the total length of the two insects, we need to add their lengths together.

The length of the first insect is 4 * 10^(-2) inches.

The length of the second insect is 1.3 * 10^(-1) inches.

To add these, we need to make sure the powers of 10 are the same. We can do this by converting both lengths to the same power of 10. In this case, let's convert them both to 10^(-1).

4 * 10^(-2) is equivalent to 0.4 * 10^(-1) (because 4 divided by 10 is 0.4).

Now we can add the two lengths:

0.4 * 10^(-1) + 1.3 * 10^(-1) = 1.7 * 10^(-1).

Therefore, the total length of the two insects is approximately 1.7 * 10^(-1) inches.

Expressed to 1 decimal place, this is approximately 0.2 inches.