Question 843539
Our answer will be {{{5.874 * 10^n}}}.
We need to find the number that n should be.
Let's look at our number 58740.
Certainly 5874 * 10 = 58740
Also 587.4 * 100 = 58740
This is the same as {{{587.4 *10^2}}} = 58740
58.74 * 1000 = 58740
or
{{{58.74 * 10^3 = 58740}}}
5.874 * 10000 = 58740
or
{{{5.874 * 10^4}}}
Notice that if begin at the right side of 58740
and count the number of positions until we end up
between the 5 and 8 we will have moved 4 positions.
This leads to our answer {{{5.874 * 10^4}}}
Looking at another problem, suppose
we want 78,123,000,000 in scientific notation.
Start at the right and count till we are between the 7 and 8.
The count is 10, so
78,123,000,000 = {{{7.8123*10^10}}}
Please let me know if this is clear.