How is the number 0.0034050 expressed in scientific notation?

To express a number in scientific notation, it should be written as a product of a coefficient and a power of ten. The coefficient should typically be a number between 1 and 10.

In the case of 0.0034050, the first step is to move the decimal point to the right until it is positioned just after the first non-zero digit. For the number 0.0034050, the decimal point is moved three places to the right, resulting in 3.4050. Since the decimal was moved to the right, we denote this shift with a negative exponent of ten. Thus, the number can be expressed as 3.4050 x 10^(-3).

This form indicates that the original number is much smaller than one, which corresponds with 0.0034050 since it is indeed a small number. The use of the negative exponent accurately reflects the reduction in value caused by moving the decimal to the right.

In summary, the expression 3.4050 x 10^(-3) correctly represents the original number in scientific notation, which is why it is the correct choice.