To find how many times smaller the bacterial cell is than the amoeba cell, we can divide the length of the amoeba cell by the length of the bacterial cell:
(3.5 x 10^-4 m) / (5 x 10^-6 m)
To divide these numbers, we can subtract the exponents of the scientific notation and divide the coefficients:
3.5 / 5 = 0.7
Now let's calculate the difference in exponents:
(-4) - (-6) = -4 + 6 = 2
The final answer can be written as 0.7 x 10^2, or 0.7 x 100. Since the coefficient is less than 10, it can be also written as 7 x 10^1.
Therefore, the bacterial cell is 7 times smaller than the amoeba cell, and the answer is d) 7 x 10^1.
The length of a bacterial cell is about 5 x 10−6 m, and the length of an amoeba cell is about 3.5 x 10−4 m. How many times smaller is the bacterial cell than the amoeba cell? Write the final answer in scientific notation with the correct number of significant digits.
a) 1.4 x 101
b) 7 x 101
c) 143 x 101
d) 7 x 103
1 answer
1 answer