How should the measured value of 0.00001030 seconds be expressed correctly?

The measured value of 0.00001030 seconds can be expressed in scientific notation to provide a clearer representation of its magnitude. In scientific notation, a number is expressed as a product of a coefficient (which is typically between 1 and 10) and a power of ten.

To convert the value 0.00001030 into scientific notation, we first shift the decimal point right so that there's only one non-zero digit to the left of the decimal point. Moving the decimal point 5 places to the right gives us 1.030. This indicates that we will multiply our coefficient (1.030) by (10^{-5}), since moving the decimal to the right corresponds to a negative exponent.

This leads us to the proper scientific notation of 1.030 × 10^-5 seconds. The presence of three significant figures in the coefficient (1.030) indicates the precision of the measured value, making it clear that the trailing zero is significant.

Thus, this form accurately represents the original value in a clear and scientifically accepted way.