Which of the following numbers is correctly written in scientific notation?

• A. 3.2 × 10^5
• B. 32 × 10^4
• C. 0.32 × 10^6
• D. 3200 × 10^2

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Recall that scientific notation expresses a number as \(a \times 10^{n}\), where \(a\) is a number such that \$1 \leq a < 10\( and \)n$ is an integer exponent.
2. Examine each option to see if the coefficient (the number before \(\times 10^{n}\)) is between 1 and 10.
3. For the option \$3.2 \times 10^{5}$, the coefficient is 3.2, which is between 1 and 10, so this fits the scientific notation format.
4. For the option \$32 \times 10^{4}$, the coefficient is 32, which is greater than 10, so this is not correctly written in scientific notation.
5. For the option \$0.32 \times 10^{6}$, the coefficient is 0.32, which is less than 1, so this is not correctly written in scientific notation.
6. For the option \$3200 \times 10^{2}$, the coefficient is 3200, which is much greater than 10, so this is not correctly written in scientific notation.