Given the calculation: (6.49 × 10 ⁷) × (7.1 × 10 ⁵) = ?, what is the answer reported to the correct number of significant figures?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When multiplying numbers in scientific notation, we multiply the coefficients and add the exponents. Thus, $6.49 \cdot 7.1 = 46.019,$ and $10^{17} \cdot 10^{15} = 10^{32}.$ Multiplying these gives $46.019 \cdot 10^{32},$ which we round to two significant figures to get $4.6 \cdot 10^{32}.$ The only answer choice that matches this is $\boxed{	extbf{(B)}}.$

Given the Calculation: (6