To find the difference between the sizes of the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom, we first need to express their sizes in scientific notation properly:
-
Size of a hydrogen atom: \[ 1.2 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \]
-
Size of an oxygen atom: \[ 0.000000000152 \text{ m} = 1.52 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \]
Next, we calculate the difference:
\[ \text{Difference} = \text{Size of hydrogen atom} - \text{Size of oxygen atom} \] \[ = 1.2 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} - 1.52 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \] \[ = (1.2 - 1.52) \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \] \[ = -0.32 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \] \[ = -3.2 \times 10^{-11} \text{ m} \]
Since the options provided include only positive values, we will use the absolute value of the difference, giving us:
\[ 3.2 \times 10^{-11} \text{ m} \]
Thus, the correct answer is
3.2 × 10^−11 m.