Sam is comparing the half-life of two isotopes of uranium. The half-life of Uranium-238 is 4.5×109 years. The half-life of Uranium-233 is 1.6×105 years. He computed how much greater the half-life of Uranium-238 is than that of Uranium-233, and his calculator displayed the number 2.81E4. What is this number in scientific notation?(1 point)
A 4x 10^2.81
B 2.81 x 10^-4
C 2.81 x 10^4
D 2.81 + 10^4
The number 2.81E4 in scientific notation is C 2.81 x 10^4.
The number 2.81E4 is already in scientific notation. When the letter "E" is used in a number, it represents multiplying the given number by 10 to the power of the number that follows it. In this case, "E4" means multiplying 2.81 by 10^4.
So, the number 2.81E4 is equivalent to 2.81 x 10^4, which is option C.
To understand how to convert the number 2.81E4 to scientific notation, we need to know what the "E" represents. In scientific notation, "E" is used to represent the exponent of 10.
In this case, 2.81E4 means 2.81 multiplied by 10 raised to the power of 4.
To convert this to standard scientific notation, we move the decimal point in 2.81, 4 places to the right, as the exponent is positive.
So, the number 2.81E4 in scientific notation is 2.81 x 10^4, which is option C.