The area of the Caribbean Sea is 2.7182 × 106 km2. The area of the South Atlantic Ocean is 4.027 × 107 km2. Find the total area. Write the final answer in scientific notation with the correct number of significant digits.
a) 4.29882 × 108 km2
b) 4.299 × 107 km2
c) 3.75518 × 1013 km2
d) 3.755 × 1013 km2
To find the total area, we add the area of the Caribbean Sea and the area of the South Atlantic Ocean:
2.7182 × 10^6 km^2 + 4.027 × 10^7 km^2
To add these two numbers, we need to make sure that they have the same power of 10. In this case, we can rewrite 2.7182 × 10^6 km^2 as 0.27182 × 10^7 km^2:
0.27182 × 10^7 km^2 + 4.027 × 10^7 km^2
Now we can add the two numbers:
= 0.27182 × 10^7 km^2 + 4.027 × 10^7 km^2
= (0.27182 + 4.027) × 10^7 km^2
= 4.29882 × 10^7 km^2
Therefore, the total area is 4.29882 × 10^7 km^2.
The correct answer is a) 4.29882 × 10^7 km^2.