The weight of an ant averages about 3 × 10 − 6 kg. There are about 1 × 10 16 ants in the world. What is the approximate weight in kilograms of all the ants in the world? Write the answer in scientific notation...

1 answer

To find the approximate weight of all the ants in the world, you can multiply the average weight of an ant by the total number of ants.

  1. The weight of one ant is \( 3 \times 10^{-6} \) kg.
  2. The total number of ants is \( 1 \times 10^{16} \).

The total weight \( W \) of all the ants can be calculated as follows:

\[ W = (3 \times 10^{-6} , \text{kg}) \times (1 \times 10^{16}) \]

Now, we can multiply the coefficients and add the exponents:

\[ W = 3 \times 1 \times 10^{-6 + 16} \] \[ W = 3 \times 10^{10} \]

Thus, the approximate weight of all the ants in the world is \( 3 \times 10^{10} \) kg.