A red blood cell has a diameter of approximately 0.000008 meters. When this number is writ… — ACT

A red blood cell has a diameter of approximately $0.000008$ meters. When this number is written in scientific notation as $a \times 10^n$ , where $1 \leq a < 10$ , what is the value of $n$ ?

Answer: -6

Answer

The value of the exponent is

-6

To write the number

0.000008

in scientific notation, we shift the decimal point 6 places to the right to get

8

. Since the original value is less than 1, the exponent is negative, giving

8 \times 10^{-6}

. The value of

n

is therefore

-6

Step-by-Step Solution

Locate the decimal point and determine how many places it must be shifted to obtain a coefficient between 1 and 10.

The decimal point must be shifted 6 places to the right to get the number

8

Scientific notation requires the lead coefficient

a

to satisfy

1 \leq a < 10

Determine the sign and value of the exponent based on the decimal shift.

The exponent

n

-6

Moving the decimal point to the right to write a decimal value less than 1 results in a negative exponent equal to the number of shifts.

Key Concept

Scientific Notation for Decimals Less Than One

Question

Answer

Step-by-Step Solution

Key Concept

Common Mistakes

Topics

More questions from this topic