To determine the number of bacteria in 100 milliliters of coastal ocean water, given that there are approximately 1,500,000 bacteria per milliliter, we follow these steps:
1. Identify the number of bacteria per milliliter:
[tex]\[
\text{Bacteria per milliliter} = 1,500,000
\][/tex]
2. Identify the volume for which we need to determine the bacteria count:
[tex]\[
\text{Volume} = 100 \text{ milliliters}
\][/tex]
3. Calculate the total number of bacteria in 100 milliliters:
[tex]\[
\text{Total bacteria} = \text{Bacteria per milliliter} \times \text{Volume}
\][/tex]
Plug in the values:
[tex]\[
\text{Total bacteria} = 1,500,000 \times 100
\][/tex]
4. Perform the multiplication:
[tex]\[
1,500,000 \times 100 = 150,000,000
\][/tex]
5. Express the result in scientific notation:
[tex]\[
150,000,000 = 1.5 \times 10^8
\][/tex]
The correct answer is therefore [tex]\(1.5 \times 10^8\)[/tex].
So, the number of bacteria in 100 milliliters of coastal ocean water is:
E. [tex]\(1.5 \times 10^8\)[/tex]
