The diameter of a carbon atom is 0.000000000154 meters. To express this number in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point so that there is only one non-zero digit to the left of the decimal. In this case, we move the decimal point 10 places to the right, which gives us 1.54.
Since we moved the decimal point 10 places to the right, we represent this as multiplying by 10 raised to the power of -10. Therefore, the diameter of a carbon atom in scientific notation is:
1.54 x 10-10 meters
This format makes it easier to work with very large or very small numbers in science and mathematics.