The local zoo welcomed two newborns this week that were vastly different in size. Holly, a hippo calf, weighed 4 x 10 squared 4 grams and Bella, a hummingbird hatchling, weighed 4 x 10 squared -1 grams.

How many times the birth weight of Bella, the hummingbird, is the birth weight of Holly, the hippo?

A. 4 x 10 squared 3
B. 1 x 10 squared 3
C. 1 x 10 squared 5
D. 1 x 10 squared 4

1 answer

D. 1 x 10 squared 4

To find out how many times the birth weight of Bella is the birth weight of Holly, you would divide Holly's weight by Bella's weight:

(4 x 10 squared 4) / (4 x 10 squared -1)
= 4 x 10 squared (4-(-1))
= 4 x 10 squared 5

So, Bella's birth weight is 10^5 times smaller than Holly's birth weight.