Question

scientific operations
subtract these scientific notation numbers and give the answer in scientific notation:
(2.5 x 10⁹) − (5 x 10⁸)

Explanation:

Step1: Make exponents equal

To subtract numbers in scientific notation, we first make the exponents the same. We can rewrite \(5\times10^{8}\) as \(0.5\times10^{9}\) (since \(5\times10^{8}=5\times10^{8}\times\frac{10}{10}=0.5\times10^{9}\)).

Step2: Subtract the coefficients

Now we have \((2.5\times10^{9})-(0.5\times10^{9})\). When the exponents are the same, we subtract the coefficients: \(2.5 - 0.5 = 2\).

Step3: Write in scientific notation

The result is \(2\times10^{9}\) (since the coefficient is between 1 and 10 and the exponent remains \(9\)).

Answer:

\(2\times10^{9}\)