Question

The size of a cell is typically found by capturing an image under a microscope then using software to measure its diameter. Two cells are measured using this method:
Cell H: 3, point, 5, 2, times, 10, to the power minus 33.52×10
−3
centimeters
Cell K: 9, point, 1, times, 10, to the power minus 49.1×10
−4
centimeters
How many times larger is the diameter of cell H than the diameter of cell K? Write your answer in standard notation, rounding to the nearest tenth.

Answer 1

Interpreting the measurements as H = 3.52 × 10^−3 cm and K = 9.1 × 10^−4 cm, the ratio is

(3.52×10^−3) / (9.1×10^−4) = (3.52/9.1) × 10^(−3 −(−4)) = (3.52/9.1) × 10^1 ≈ 0.3868 × 10 = 3.868 ≈ 3.9.

So cell H is about 3.9 times larger than cell K (to the nearest tenth).