the volume of the atlantic ocean is about 3.1·10^17 cubic meters. the mississippi river has an annual flow…

the volume of the atlantic ocean is about 3.1·10^17 cubic meters. the mississippi river has an annual flow of 6.3·10^11 cubic meters. how many times would the annual flow of the mississippi river fit in the atlantic ocean? write your final answer in scientific notation, and round to two decimal places.

the volume of the atlantic ocean is about 3.1·10^17 cubic meters. the mississippi river has an annual flow of 6.3·10^11 cubic meters. how many times would the annual flow of the mississippi river fit in the atlantic ocean? write your final answer in scientific notation, and round to two decimal places.

Answer

Explanation:

Step1: Set up the division

We need to divide the volume of the Atlantic - Ocean by the annual flow of the Mississippi River. So the expression is $\frac{3.1\times10^{17}}{6.3\times10^{11}}$.

Step2: Use the quotient - rule of exponents

The quotient - rule states that $\frac{a\times10^{m}}{b\times10^{n}}=\frac{a}{b}\times10^{m - n}$. Here, $a = 3.1$, $b = 6.3$, $m = 17$, and $n = 11$. So $\frac{3.1}{6.3}\times10^{17-11}$.

Step3: Calculate the coefficient and the exponent

$\frac{3.1}{6.3}\approx0.492$ and $17 - 11=6$. So the result is $0.492\times10^{6}$.

Step4: Convert to proper scientific notation

In scientific notation, the coefficient should be between 1 and 10. So $0.492\times10^{6}=4.92\times10^{5}$.

Answer:

$4.92\times10^{5}$