Question

Dinosaurs have been extinct for about 6.5 * 10^7
years, while Neanderthals have been extinct for about 3.0 * 10^4
years. About how many times longer have dinosaurs been extinct than Neanderthals?
A.
1,000 times longer

B.
2,000 times longer

C.
10,000 times longer

D.
20,000 times longer

Answer 1

wrong

Answer 2

To find out how many times longer dinosaurs have been extinct compared to Neanderthals, we can divide the extinction time of dinosaurs by the extinction time of Neanderthals.

The time since dinosaurs went extinct is \(6.5 \times 10^7\) years, and the time since Neanderthals went extinct is \(3.0 \times 10^4\) years.

Now we can perform the division:

\[
\text{Ratio} = \frac{6.5 \times 10^7}{3.0 \times 10^4}
\]

To simplify the division:

1. Divide the coefficients:
\[
\frac{6.5}{3.0} \approx 2.1667
\]

2. Subtract the exponents in the powers of ten:
\[
10^{7 - 4} = 10^3
\]

Thus, we have:

\[
\text{Ratio} \approx 2.1667 \times 10^3
\]

This means dinosaurs have been extinct approximately \(2,166.7\) times longer than Neanderthals.

Since we are looking for an approximate answer from the options provided, the closest option is:

**B. 2,000 times longer**.