A certain insect is approximately 4 times 10^-2 inches long. A second insect is about 1.3 times 10^-1 inches long. What is the total length of two insects in inches? Use scientific notation to express your answer to 1 decimal place
To find the total length of the two insects, add their lengths together:
4 x 10^-2 + 1.3 x 10^-1
First, we need to make the exponents the same. We can do this by converting 1.3 to scientific notation, which is 1.3 x 10^-1:
4 x 10^-2 + 1.3 x 10^-1
= 4 x 10^-2 + 1.3 x 10^-1
= 0.04 + 0.13
Now, add the lengths:
0.04 + 0.13 = 0.17
Therefore, the total length of the two insects is 0.17 inches. In scientific notation, this is 1.7 x 10^-1 inches.