To express a number in scientific notation, we need to rewrite it as a product of a number between 1 and 10 and a power of 10. For the number 38.78, we will move the decimal point one place to the left to get 3.878, and then multiply by \(10^1\) because we moved the decimal one place.
Step 1: Convert to Scientific Notation
To express the number \( 38.78 \) in scientific notation, we rewrite it as a product of a number between \( 1 \) and \( 10 \) and a power of \( 10 \). We move the decimal point one place to the left, resulting in \( 3.878 \). Since we moved the decimal one place, we multiply by \( 10^1 \).
Step 2: Write in Standard Form
Thus, we can express \( 38.78 \) in scientific notation as:
\[
38.78 = 3.878 \times 10^1
\]
Final Answer
The scientific notation of \( 38.78 \) is \\(\boxed{3.878 \times 10^1}\\).