Questions: Question 15, P2. 119
As of January 2016, the national debt of a certain country was 18.8 trillion.
a. Express 18.8 trillion in scientific notation.
b. Four years of tuition, fees, and room and board at a public college cost approximately 80,000. Express this number in scientific notation.
c. Use your answers from parts (a) and (b) to determine how many citizens could receive a free college education for 18.8 trillion.
a. 18.8 trillion = 1.88 x 10^13
b. 80,000 =
(Use scientific notation. Use the multiplication symbol in the math palette as needed.)
Transcript text: Question 15, P2. 119
As of January 2016, the national debt of a certain country was $\$ 18.8$ trillion.
a. Express 18.8 trillion in scientific notation.
b. Four years of tuition, fees, and room and board at a public college cost approximately $\$ 80,000$. Express this number in scientific notation.
c. Use your answers from parts (a) and (b) to determine how many citizens could receive a free college education for $\$ 18.8$ trillion.
a. 18.8 trillion $=1.88 \times 10^{13}$
b. $80,000=$
(Use scientific notation. Use the multiplication symbol in the math palette as needed.)
Solution
Solution Steps
Step 1: Expressing in Scientific Notation
To express the numbers in scientific notation, we first identify the coefficient and the exponent for each number. For the first number, \(N_1 = 18800000000000\), it is expressed as \(a_1 \times 10^{n_1} = 1.88 \times 10^{n1}\). Similarly, for the second number, \(N_2 = 80000\), it is expressed as \(a_2 \times 10^{n_2} = 8 \times 10^{n2}\).
Step 2: Performing Calculations
To find out how many units of \(N_2\) can be covered by \(N_1\), we divide the scientific notation expressions of \(N_1\) by \(N_2\). This gives us a result of \(\frac{a_1}{a_2} \times 10^{n_1-n_2} = 0.235 \times 10^{n_result}\).
Step 3: Expressing the Result in Scientific Notation
The result of the division, when expressed in scientific notation and rounded to 0 decimal places, is approximately \( 235000000 \).
Final Answer:
Given the first large number \(N_1 = 18800000000000\) and the second large number \(N_2 = 80000\), approximately \( 235000000 \) units of the commodity or service priced at \(N_2\) can be provided.