To find out how much heavier a grain of rice is than a strand of hair, we can subtract the mass of the strand of hair from the mass of the grain of rice.
Given:
- Mass of a strand of hair (H) = \(2.17 \times 10^{-5}\) ounces
- Mass of a grain of rice (R) = \(0.002\) ounces
First, we need to express the mass of the grain of rice in scientific notation. The mass of a grain of rice in scientific notation can be expressed as:
\[ 0.002 = 2 \times 10^{-3} \text{ ounces} \]
Now we can calculate the difference in mass:
\[ R - H = (2 \times 10^{-3}) - (2.17 \times 10^{-5}) \]
To perform the subtraction accurately, we should express \(2 \times 10^{-3}\) in terms of \(10^{-5}\):
\[ 2 \times 10^{-3} = 200 \times 10^{-5} \]
Now we can perform the subtraction:
\[ 200 \times 10^{-5} - 2.17 \times 10^{-5} = (200 - 2.17) \times 10^{-5} = 197.83 \times 10^{-5} \]
Now, we need to convert \(197.83 \times 10^{-5}\) into scientific notation.
\[ 197.83 = 1.9783 \times 10^{2} \]
So:
\[ 197.83 \times 10^{-5} = 1.9783 \times 10^{2} \times 10^{-5} = 1.9783 \times 10^{-3} \]
Therefore, the difference in mass (how much heavier a grain of rice is than a strand of hair) is:
\[ \boxed{1.9783 \times 10^{-3}} \text{ ounces} \]
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