A proton with mass 1.67 *10^-27 kg moving with a velocity of 4.46 * 10^6 m/s straight up.
_____kg*m/s upward
i know it's momentum = mass x velocity but i'm kinda confused with the powers of 10.
2006-11-19 10:15:06 · 4 answers · asked by tingerpoo 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
MOMENTUM = MASS x VELOCITY
So basically if you type this into your scientific calculator:
(1.67exp-27) x (4.46exp6)
You should get the answer to be:
7.4482x10^-21 kgm/s.
So then as you can see the power is then added together since the variables have been multiplied.
If they are divided then the powers are subtracted.
hence -27 + 6 = -21 which is the power of your final answer.
Hope it helps!!
2006-11-19 10:27:17 · answer #1 · answered by C.B 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
(1.67 *10^-27)*(4.46 * 10^6) = (1.67*4.46)*10^(-27+6)
Or finally, 7.4482*10^-21
And as someone above brought up, what if the 7.4482 had turned out bigger than 10?
Example:
3*10^-27 * 4*10^6 = 12*10^-21. Standard notation says you probably should convert the 12 to 1.2 ... so what do you do with the exponent then? My trick is
"if you decrease one, increase the other"
so 3*10^-27 * 4*10^6 = 1.2*10^-20
2006-11-19 20:02:14 · answer #2 · answered by sojsail 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just multiply the numbers. Then add the powers of 10: 27 + 6.
They are just a way of keeping up the number of zeros.
2006-11-19 18:19:13 · answer #3 · answered by Alan J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
dude, just use a calculator to see if 1.67*4.46<10. if it is, then you can just combine the exponents w/o having to worry about regrouping. in this case, 1.67*4.46 actually is less than 10, so the momentum is 7.45*10^(-21) kg*m/s.
2006-11-19 18:19:14 · answer #4 · answered by Ramesh S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋