Question

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. ____ x ____ ounces

Answer 1

To find the difference in mass between a grain of rice and a strand of hair, we need to subtract the mass of a strand of hair from the mass of a grain of rice.

Mass of a grain of rice: 0.002 ounces
Mass of a strand of hair: 2.17×10^−5 ounces

Difference in mass: 0.002 - 2.17×10^−5 = 0.002 - 0.0000217 = 0.0019783 ounces

In scientific notation, this is 1.9783×10^−3 ounces.