Question

The diameter of a carbon atom is 0.000000000154 m. What is this number expressed in scientific notation?

Answer 1

`1.54xx10^{-10}`.

Explanation:

Move the decimal point until you have one nonzero digit to the left of it. The number with the decimal point moved is `a`, the number of places you moved the decimal point is `n`, and then you have

`axx10^{n}` if you moved the decimal point to the left

`axx10^{-n}` if you moved the decimal point to the right

`axx10^{0}`, because `n=0`, if you did not have to move the decimal point