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

Answer 1

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

The mass of a grain of rice is 0.002 ounces, while the mass of a strand of hair is 2.17×10^−5 ounces.

To subtract these two values, we can write them in scientific notation to make the calculation easier.

0.002 = 2 × 10^-3 (this is equivalent to moving the decimal point three places to the left)

2.17 × 10^-5

Now, subtracting the two values:

(2 × 10^-3) - (2.17 × 10^-5) = 1.998 × 10^-3 - 2.17 × 10^-5

= 1.998 × 10^-3 - 0.0000217

= 1.998 × 10^-3 - 2.17 × 10^-5

= 1.975 × 10^-3

Therefore, a grain of rice is approximately 1.975 × 10^-3 ounces heavier than a strand of hair.