Question

A human hair was measured to have a diameter of 3.15 times 10 Superscript negative 3 inches. The width of a piece of paper was measured to be 3.94 times 10 Superscript negative 3 inches thick.

In scientific notation, how much thicker is the piece of paper than the hair?
0.79 times 10 Superscript negative 6 inches
7.9 times 10 Superscript negative 4 inches
0.79 times 10 Superscript negative 3 inches
7.9 times 10 Superscript negative 2 inches

Answer 1

0.79 times 10 Superscript negative 3 inches

To find the difference in thickness between the piece of paper and the hair, we need to divide the thickness of the paper by the thickness of the hair:
(3.94 x 10^-3 inches) / (3.15 x 10^-3 inches) = 1.25

In scientific notation, this can be written as 1.25 x 10^0. However, since we want the answer in scientific notation, we need to convert this to standard form:
1.25 x 10^0 = 1.25 inches

Which means the piece of paper is 1.25 times thicker than the hair. This can be written in scientific notation as 1.25 x 10^0 = 1.25 inches = 1.25 x 10^-1 inches = 0.125 inches.

Therefore, the piece of paper is 0.79 times 10^-3 inches thicker than the hair.