3.2 x 10^4 + 2.56 x 10^-2 show your work
To add these two numbers, we need to make sure that they have the same exponent (power of 10).
3.2 x 10^4
2.56 x 10^-2
Let's convert 2.56 x 10^-2 to scientific notation with an exponent of 4:
2.56 x 10^-2 = 0.0256 x 10^4
Now that both numbers have a power of 10 of 4, we can add them:
3.2 x 10^4 + 0.0256 x 10^4
To add these numbers, we simply add their coefficients:
3.2 + 0.0256 = 3.2256
Finally, we write the result in scientific notation, keeping the exponent of 10 as 4:
3.2256 x 10^4