# Math Help - calculator

1. ## calculator

A calculator might display the answer to

555,555*6,666,666

as

3.7037 E 12

A) What does the calculators display mean?
B) What information about the solution to 555,555*6,666,666 can you obtain from the calculator's display? Can you determine the exact answer to 555,555*6,666,666 in ordinary decimal notation? why or why not? can you determine how many digits are in the ordinary decimal representation of the product 555,555,*6,666,666? Explain.

2. Originally Posted by recca
A calculator might display the answer to

555,555*6,666,666

as

3.7037 E 12

A) What does the calculators display mean?
B) What information about the solution to 555,555*6,666,666 can you obtain from the calculator's display? Can you determine the exact answer to 555,555*6,666,666 in ordinary decimal notation? why or why not? can you determine how many digits are in the ordinary decimal representation of the product 555,555,*6,666,666? Explain.

I dont know what it means by solution. The product of the two numbers?

as for the first one $3.7037E12=3.7037\cdot{10^{12}}=3703700000000$ as represented...some sig figs could have been lost

3. Originally Posted by recca
A calculator might display the answer to

555,555*6,666,666

as

3.7037 E 12

A) What does the calculators display mean?
B) What information about the solution to 555,555*6,666,666 can you obtain from the calculator's display? Can you determine the exact answer to 555,555*6,666,666 in ordinary decimal notation? why or why not? can you determine how many digits are in the ordinary decimal representation of the product 555,555,*6,666,666? Explain.

You can determine to how ever many digits are displayed on the calculator. As MathStud suggested, E12 means $*10^{12}$.

4. That makes sense thanks for breaking it down fo rme

5. Can you determine the exact answer to 555,555*6,666,666 in ordinary decimal notation? why or why not?

You can. On some calculators you can adjust the number of digits displayed before it goes into sci. notation. Or you could simply do the multiplication the old fashion way.

can you determine how many digits are in the ordinary decimal representation of the product 555,555,*6,666,666? Explain.

You could round up 555,555 to 600,000 and round up 6,666,666 to 7,000,000. These two values are easier to multiply without a calculator and we get 13 digits in the answer.

6. Thank you, this is great

7. the answer of 55,555*666,666 = 37,036,629,630

8. Originally Posted by recca
A calculator might display the answer to
555,555*6,666,666
as

3.7037 E 12

... can you determine how many digits are in the ordinary decimal representation of the product 555,555,*6,666,666? Explain.

...
With such a notation of a number it is quite easy to get the numbers of digits

$\underbrace{3}_{1}.7037 E \underbrace{12}_{+12} = \underbrace{555,555 \cdot 6,666,666}_{result\ has\ 13\ digits}$