To find the difference between the sizes of a hydrogen atom (1.2 × 10^−10 m) and an oxygen atom (1.52 × 10^−10 m), we can subtract these two values.
- Convert the sizes of both atoms into the same scientific notation:
- Size of hydrogen atom: \( 1.2 \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} \)
- Size of oxygen atom: \( 1.52 \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} \)
- Subtract the size of the hydrogen atom from the size of the oxygen atom:
\[ 1.52 \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} - 1.2 \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} = (1.52 - 1.2) \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} = 0.32 \times 10^{-10} , \text{m} \]
- Convert \( 0.32 \times 10^{-10} \) into proper scientific notation:
( 0.32 \times 10^{-10} = 3.2 \times 10^{-11} , \text{m} )
Thus, the difference between the sizes of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms is:
\(\boxed{3.2 \times 10^{-11} , \text{m}}\)