1. **State the problem:** We need to calculate $1.02 \times 10^{16} - 7 \times 10^{14}$ and express the answer in standard form. 2. **Recall the standard form:** A number in standard form is written as $a \times 10^n$ where $1 \leq a < 10$ and $n$ is an integer. 3. **Rewrite the terms with the same power of 10:** Since $10^{16}$ is larger than $10^{14}$, express $7 \times 10^{14}$ as $0.07 \times 10^{16}$ to have the same power of 10. 4. **Perform the subtraction:** $$1.02 \times 10^{16} - 0.07 \times 10^{16} = (1.02 - 0.07) \times 10^{16} = 0.95 \times 10^{16}$$ 5. **Adjust to standard form:** $0.95 \times 10^{16}$ is not in standard form because $a$ must be at least 1. Rewrite as: $$0.95 \times 10^{16} = 9.5 \times 10^{15}$$ 6. **Final answer:** $$\boxed{9.5 \times 10^{15}}$$