Question

the approximate populations of new jersey and wyoming (as of 2019) are listed below:
new jersey: $8.88 \times 10^6$
wyoming: $5.79 \times 10^5$
how many times greater was the population of new jersey than the population of wyoming? write your answer in standard notation, rounding to the nearest tenth.
answer
attempt 1 out of 3
standard notation
answer:

Explanation:

Step1: Divide the two populations

To find how many times greater the population of New Jersey is than Wyoming, we divide the population of New Jersey by that of Wyoming. So we calculate $\frac{8.88\times 10^{6}}{5.79\times 10^{5}}$.

Step2: Simplify the scientific notation division

Using the rule of exponents $\frac{a\times 10^{m}}{b\times 10^{n}}=\frac{a}{b}\times 10^{m - n}$, we have $\frac{8.88}{5.79}\times 10^{6-5}$. First, calculate $\frac{8.88}{5.79}\approx1.5337$ and $10^{6 - 5}=10^{1}=10$. Then multiply them: $1.5337\times10 = 15.337$.

Step3: Round to the nearest tenth

Rounding $15.337$ to the nearest tenth, we look at the hundredth place which is 3. Since $3<5$, we keep the tenth place as it is. So we get $15.3$.

Answer:

15.3