Question

answer the following.
(a) the diameter of saturn at its equator is approximately 1.21×10^5 kilometers. write this number in standard notation.
(b) an astronomers infrared telescope is able to detect radiation with a wavelength of 0.000268 meters. write this number in scientific notation.
(a) kilometers
(b) meters

Explanation:

Step1: Convert scientific to standard

To convert $1.21\times 10^{5}$ to standard notation, move the decimal 5 places to the right since the exponent is positive.
$1.21\times 10^{5}=121000$

Step2: Convert standard to scientific

For the number 0.000268, move the decimal point 4 places to the right to get a number between 1 and 10. The exponent of 10 will be - 4.
$0.000268 = 2.68\times10^{-4}$

Answer:

(a) 121000
(b) $2.68\times 10^{-4}$