Question

SCIENTIFIC NOTATION Rewrite in scientific notation. $$ 0.05 $$

Short answer

The scientific notation of 0.05 is \(5 \times 10^{-2}\).

Step-by-step solution

Identify 'a' and 'n'

Here, we are given a number '0.05'. This number will be used to identify 'a' and 'n'. In this instance, we will move the decimal point to the right to make 'a' between 1 and 10, which will change the number to '5'. The number of spaces that the decimal point is moved will determine 'n'.

Find 'n'

In Step 1, we moved the decimal point 2 places to the right. Thus, to counter this, 'n' will be -2 because moving the decimal point to the right signifies a negative exponent in scientific notation.

Formulate the Scientific Notation

Now we will apply these values into our scientific notation formula. 'a' becomes '5' and 'n' becomes '-2'. This brings us to the scientific notation expression \(5 \times 10^{-2}\).