Question

question
evaluate. express your answer in scientific notation.
0.0051 - 8.8 × 10⁻⁴
answer attempt 1 out of 2
answer: ×10
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Explanation:

Step1: Convert 0.0051 to scientific notation

0.0051 can be written as \(5.1\times10^{-3}\) (since moving the decimal 3 places to the right gives 5.1).

Step2: Convert \(8.8\times10^{-4}\) to the same exponent as \(5.1\times10^{-3}\)

We know that \(10^{-3}=10\times10^{-4}\), so \(8.8\times10^{-4}=0.88\times10^{-3}\) (dividing 8.8 by 10 to adjust the coefficient and increasing the exponent by 1 to keep the value the same).

Step3: Subtract the two numbers

Now we have \(5.1\times10^{-3}-0.88\times10^{-3}=(5.1 - 0.88)\times10^{-3}\)
Calculating \(5.1-0.88 = 4.22\), so the result is \(4.22\times10^{-3}\)

Answer:

\(4.22\times10^{-3}\)