2.3 Prefixes and Scientific Notation

The wavelength of yellow light is approximately 0.00000058m. Write this quantity in nanometers. Do not include units in your answer.

0.00000058m=580×10^−9m=580nm

The coating on a pair of eyeglasses is about 0.5μm thick. Give this thickness in meters.

0.5μm=0.5×10^−6m=5×10^−7m or 0.0000005m.

A light-year is a measure of distance rather than time; it is the distance that a ray of light will travel in a year in a vacuum. The distance between the earth and the sun is approximately 0.0000158 light-years. Write this number in scientific notation.

1.58 X 10^-5

A tiny gas bubble in a carbonated beverage contains 2.69×10^12 carbon dioxide molecules. Write the number of molecules in standard notation.

2,690,000,000,000

In the process of vision, the light-sensitive pigment rhodopsin undergoes cis-trans isomerism in response to light in about 2×10−10ms. How many seconds is this? Write the answer in scientific notation.

2×10^−10 ms×10^−3 s/ms=2×10^−13 s

Saltwater covers approximately 361,900,000 square kilometers of the earth's surface. Write the number of square kilometers of saltwater in scientific notation.

3.619 X 10^8

Write the number 4.12×10^−4 in standard notation.

4.12×10^−4=0.000412

There are about 5.3×10^−6kg of quartz in a very fine sand grain. Write the number of kilograms of quartz in the sand grain in standard notation.

5.3×10^−6 = 0.0000053.

A meteorite was found to weigh 63,500 grams. How many kilograms is this?

63,500g=63.5×10^3g=63.5kg

For a number written in scientific notation, a×10b, a is called the __________.

digit term or mantissa

Scientific notation is used to express very large and very small numbers as a __________ of two numbers.

product