The size of a hydrogen atom is about 1.2 × 10^−10 m across. The size of an oxygen atom is 0.000000000152 m across. What is the difference between the sizes of these atoms in scientific notation?(1 point)

Question

Responses

3.2×10−11 m
3.2 times 10 superscript negative 11 baseline m

2.72×10−10 m
2.72 times 10 superscript negative 10 baseline m

3.2×10−9 m
3.2 times 10 superscript negative 9 baseline m

3.2 ×10−10 m

Answer 1

To find the difference between the sizes of a hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom, we first need to express both sizes in scientific notation.

The size of a hydrogen atom is \(1.2 \times 10^{-10}\) m.

The size of an oxygen atom is given as \(0.000000000152\) m, which can be converted into scientific notation as follows:

\[ 0.000000000152 = 1.52 \times 10^{-10} \text{ m} \]

Next, we find the difference in size:

\[ \text{Difference} = \text{Size of Hydrogen Atom} - \text{Size of Oxygen Atom} \] \[ = (1.2 \times 10^{-10}) - (1.52 \times 10^{-10}) \] \[ = -0.32 \times 10^{-10} \]

To express this in proper scientific notation, we convert \(-0.32\) into \(-3.2 \times 10^{-11}\):

\[ \text{Difference} = -3.2 \times 10^{-11} \text{ m} \]

Since we are looking for the absolute difference in sizes (i.e., the positive value), we take the positive of this result.

Therefore, the difference in sizes of these atoms in scientific notation is:

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

So the correct response is:

3.2×10−11 m