A stand of a hair has an average mass of 2.17 x 10^-5 ounces. A grain of rice has an average mass of 0.002 ounces. How much heavier is a grain of rice than a stand of hair? Express your answer in scientific notation.

Answer 1

To find out how much heavier a grain of rice is than a strand of hair, we need to subtract the mass of a stand of hair from the mass of a grain of rice.

The mass of a grain of rice is 0.002 ounces.
The mass of a strand of hair is 2.17 x 10^-5 ounces.

Subtracting these two values, we get:
0.002 - 2.17 x 10^-5 = 0.001999783

To express this number in scientific notation, we move the decimal point one place to the left and multiply by 10:
0.001999783 = 1.999783 x 10^-3

Therefore, a grain of rice is approximately 1.999783 x 10^-3 ounces heavier than a strand of hair.