To determine the total number of bacteria in 100 milliliters of water, we need to know the number of bacteria per milliliter and then multiply that by the total number of milliliters.
We are given the following information:
- There are approximately 1,500,000 bacteria in 1 milliliter of water.
To find the number of bacteria in 100 milliliters of water, we perform the following steps:
1. Identify the number of bacteria per milliliter:
[tex]\[
1 \text{ milliliter} \, \text{of water} \rightarrow 1,500,000 \, \text{bacteria}
\][/tex]
2. Determine the total number of milliliters:
[tex]\[
100 \, \text{milliliters of water}
\][/tex]
3. Calculate the total number of bacteria by multiplying the bacteria per milliliter by the total milliliters:
[tex]\[
\text{Total bacteria} = (1,500,000 \, \text{bacteria per milliliter}) \times (100 \, \text{milliliters})
\][/tex]
4. Perform the multiplication:
[tex]\[
\text{Total bacteria} = 1,500,000 \times 100
\][/tex]
5. Simplify the multiplication:
[tex]\[
\text{Total bacteria} = 150,000,000
\][/tex]
Now, let's express the result in scientific notation for clarity:
[tex]\[
150,000,000 = 1.5 \times 10^8
\][/tex]
Therefore, the total number of bacteria in 100 milliliters of coastal ocean water is:
[tex]\[
\boxed{1.5 \times 10^8}
\][/tex]
So, the correct answer is:
E. [tex]\( 1.5 \times 10^8 \)[/tex]
