Play hydrogen atom is about 1.2×10^-10 him across. The size of an oxygen atom is 0.000000000152 I am across. What is the difference between the sizes of these atoms and scientific notation?

1 answer

To find the difference in sizes between a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom, let's first express both sizes in scientific notation:

  • Size of a hydrogen atom: \( 1.2 \times 10^{-10} \) meters
  • Size of an oxygen atom: \( 1.52 \times 10^{-10} \) meters

Now, we will find the difference in sizes:

\[ \text{Difference} = \text{Size of hydrogen atom} - \text{Size of oxygen atom} \] \[ = (1.2 \times 10^{-10}) - (1.52 \times 10^{-10}) \] \[ = -0.32 \times 10^{-10} \]

To express this result in proper scientific notation, we convert \(-0.32\) into scientific notation. Specifically, \(-0.32\) can be written as \(-3.2 \times 10^{-1}\). When combining it with \(10^{-10}\):

\[ -0.32 \times 10^{-10} = -3.2 \times 10^{-1} \times 10^{-10} = -3.2 \times 10^{-11} \]

Thus, the difference between the sizes of the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom in scientific notation is:

\[ -3.2 \times 10^{-11} \text{ meters} \]