Which of the following expresses the number 554,780,000,040 in scientific notation to three significant figures?

• A. 5.54 × 10^{11}
• B. 5.55 × 10^{11}
• C. 5.55 × 10^{10}
• D. 5.55 × 10^{12}

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Identify the number given: 554,780,000,040. The goal is to express this number in scientific notation with three significant figures.
2. Determine the power of 10 by counting how many places the decimal point must move to place it after the first non-zero digit. For 554,780,000,040, the decimal moves 11 places to the left, so the power of 10 is 11.
3. Express the number as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10: \$5.5478 \times 10^{11}$.
4. Round the coefficient to three significant figures. Since the digits after the third significant figure are 7 and 8, round 5.5478 to 5.55.
5. Write the final scientific notation as \$5.55 \times 10^{11}$.