How is 403,000,000,000,000 expressed in scientific notation?

• A. 4.03 x 10^12
• B. 4.03 x 10^13
• C. 4.03 x 10^14
• D. 4.03 x 10^15

Answer: (C)

To express the number 403,000,000,000,000 in scientific notation, you start by identifying the significant figures and the appropriate power of ten.

First, we can rewrite the number in a cleaner format: 403 trillion can be expressed as 4.03 multiplied by 10 raised to the power that reflects how many places the decimal has moved to turn the original number into a significant figure format.

In this case, moving the decimal point from its original position at the end of the number (which is assumed) to the point directly after the first non-zero digit (4.03) requires moving it 14 places to the left. Therefore, we place the decimal after the first digit (4) to create the coefficient 4.03.

Consequently, we represent the original number in scientific notation as 4.03 x 10 raised to the power of 14. Thus, the correct representation indicates that 403,000,000,000,000 is equivalent to a coefficient of 4.03 and a power of ten that describes its scale accurately.