Adding and Subtracting Scientific Notation Word Problem
Adding and Subtracting Scientific Notation Word Problem
1) In 2006, about 1.9 x 107 people visited Blue Ridge Parkway. That same year, about 9.3 x 106
people visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park. How many more people visited Blue
Ridge Parkway than Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 2006? What operation will be
used to solve this problem?
2) In 2006, the US had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1.313 x 1013. The United Kingdom
had a GDP of 1.93 x 1012. What were the combined GDPs of the US and the UK in 2006? What
operation will be used to solve this problem?
3) In 2006, China had 1.311 x108 internet users. That same year, Japan had 9.09 x 107 internet
users. How many internet users did the two countries have combined? What operation will be
used to solve this problem?
4) The average distance from Earth to the Sun is 1.46 x 108 kilometers. The average distance
from Earth to the Moon is 3.84 x 105 kilometers. About many more times as great is the distance
from Earth to the Sun than to the Moon? What operation will be used to solve this problem?
5) About 8.73 x 108 people in the world speak Chinese. About 3.22 x 108 speak Spanish. In
scientific notation, how many more people speak Chinese than Spanish? What operation will
be used to solve this problem?
7) Great Lake Superior covers an area of 3.17 x 104 square miles. The smallest Great Lake,
Ontario, covers an area of 7.34 x 103 square miles. About how many times as great is the area
covered by Lake Superior than Lake Ontario? What operation will be used to solve this
problem?
8) The distance between Memphis and Sand Francisco is 1.2 x 103 miles. The distance between
Memphis and Nashville is 2.5 x 102. How much further is San Francisco than Nashville from
Memphis? What operation will be used to solve this problem?
b) How much farther is the first half of the trip compared to the second half of the trip?
a) How much greater is the average weight of an African Bush Elephant than the average
weight of a Hippopotamus?
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4) The Earth’s surface that is covered by water is 3.61 x 10 , compared to the amount of Earth’s
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surface that is covered by land which is 1.49 x 10 , approximately how many times greater is
the amount of the Earth’s surface covered by water, compared to the surface covered by land?
Do Now:
1. (3.5 x 104) + (2.76 x 105)
3. Which numbers are NOT written in Scientific Notation? Change to scientific notation.
a) –2
2.567×10
b) 2
67×10
c) -4
15.5×10
d) –10
3×10
e) -5
0.004x10
Example 9: The largest planet in our solar system is Jupiter with a diameter of about 1.43 x 105
kilometers. The smallest planet in our solar system is Mercury with a diameter of about 4.9 x
103 kilometers. About how many times greater is the diameter of Jupiter than the diameter of
Mercury? What operation will be used to solve this problem?