The U.S. population in 1970 was 203,211,926. What was the approximate population written in scientific notation? Choices: (A)2 * 10^7 (B)2 * 10^8 (C)2 * 10^9 (D)2 * 10^10

Question

The U.S. population in 1970 was 203,211,926. What was the approximate population written in scientific notation?   Choices: (A)2 * 10^7 (B)2 * 10^8 (C)2 * 10^9 (D)2 * 10^10

Bytelearn · Accepted Answer

Identify significant digits: First, let's identify the most significant digits of the population number. We have 203,211,926 which starts with 203. We want to turn this into a number between 1 and 10 for scientific notation.Move decimal point: Now, we move the decimal point in 203 so that it's after the first digit, which gives us 2.03211926. We moved the decimal point 2 places to the left.Count decimal places moved: Count how many places we moved the decimal point to get from 203,211,926 to 2.03211926. We moved it 8 places.Write in scientific notation: Write the number in scientific notation as 2.03211926 times 10 to the power of the number of places we moved the decimal point, which is 8. So, it's 2.03211926 * 10^8.Round to approximate value: Since we need an approximate value and the choices are all in the form of 2 * 10^x, we can round 2.03211926 to 2. This gives us 2 * 10^8.Find correct answer: Look at the choices to find our answer. The correct scientific notation that matches our calculation is (B)2 * 10^8.

The U.S. population in $1970$ was $203,211,926$ . What was the approximate population written in scientific notation? $\newline$ Choices: $\newline$ (A) $2 \times 10^7$ $\newline$ (B) $2 \times 10^8$ $\newline$ (C) $2 \times 10^9$ $\newline$ (D) $2 \times 10^{10}$

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