Final answer:
MCTOW stands for Maximum Certified Takeoff Weight, indicating the maximum weight at which an aircraft is certified to take off. Weights can be represented in decimal or scientific notation, with the latter being useful for expressing very large or very small numbers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The acronym MCTOW refers to Maximum Certified Takeoff Weight, which is a specification found in an aircraft's type certificate. This value represents the maximum weight at which the aircraft has been certified to take off, which includes the weight of the aircraft, fuel, passengers, cargo, and everything else on board. When we talk about numerical values like these, they can be represented in several formats, such as decimal form or scientific notation. For instance, the maximum takeoff weight of a Boeing 777-200ER is 298,000 kilograms, which can be expressed in scientific notation as 2.98 × 105 kg. Conversely, small masses, like the mass of an average mosquito, can also be expressed in scientific notation due to their tiny size, such as 0.0000025 kilograms, which can be written as 2.5 × 10-6 kg. Both forms provide a clear and precise way to communicate measurements in various magnitudes.