Write each number in scientific notation. 579,000,000,000,000,000

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the original number: 579,000,000,000,000,000.
2. Count how many places the decimal point must move to the left to place it after the first non-zero digit (which is 5). For this number, the decimal moves 17 places.
3. Rewrite the number by placing the decimal point after the first digit: 5.79.
4. Express the original number as the product of this new decimal number and 10 raised to the power of the number of places moved: \$5.79 \times 10^{17}$.
5. This is the scientific notation form of the original number.

Key Concepts

Scientific Notation

Scientific notation is a way to express very large or very small numbers as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10. It simplifies handling and comparing such numbers by using exponents to represent the scale.

Place Value and Decimal Point Movement

Understanding place value helps determine how many places to move the decimal point to convert a number into scientific notation. Moving the decimal left for large numbers counts the number of places as the exponent of 10.

Exponents of Ten

Exponents of ten indicate how many times 10 is multiplied by itself. In scientific notation, the exponent shows the magnitude of the number, with positive exponents for large numbers and negative for small numbers.