Last year a large trucking company delivered 9.0x10^5 tons of goods with an average value of $17,000 per ton. what was the total value of the goods delivered? write the answer in scientific notation. 1.53x10^10dollars 1.53x10^12dollars 1.53x10^11 dollars 1.53x10^9dollars

The correct answer is:

1.53x10^10 dollars

Explanation:

We first write 9.0x10^5 in standard form.  The exponent of the power of 10, 5, tells us to move the decimal point 5 places.  Since it is positive, we move the decimal to the right (to make the number larger).  This gives us 900000 tons.

Each ton is worth $17,000.  This gives us a total value of

900000(17000) = 15300000000.

Our answer needs to be written in scientific notation.  This means we want the decimal after the first non-zero digit in the number; it goes behind the 1.  This makes 1.53.  To move the decimal here, we must move it 10 places; this gives us the answer of

1.53x10^10