A military supply shipment contains 3.4 \times 10^4 ready-to-eat meals. What is the total … — Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)

A military supply shipment contains $3.4 \times 10^4$ ready-to-eat meals. What is the total number of meals written in standard numerical form?

Answer: 34000 meals

34000

The expression

3.4 \times 10^4

represents

3.4

multiplied by

10,000

. Shifting the decimal point 4 places to the right results in exactly

34,000

Identify the exponent on the base 10.

The exponent is 4.

The exponent determines the number of places the decimal point must be shifted.

Move the decimal point 4 places to the right.

3.4 becomes 34000.

Multiplying by 10^4 is equivalent to shifting the decimal to the right by 4 places to convert the scientific notation into standard form.

Converting from scientific notation to standard form involves shifting the decimal point based on the value and sign of the exponent.

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