The Thai Pepper has a hotness rating of 7.5 × 10^4 on the Scoville scale. The Red Savina Habanero has a hotness rating of 4.6 × 10^5 on the Scoville scale. How many times hotter is the Red Savina Habanero than the Thai Pepper?

1 answer

To find out how many times hotter the Red Savina Habanero is than the Thai Pepper, we need to calculate the ratio of their hotness ratings.

Ratio = Red Savina Habanero hotness rating / Thai Pepper hotness rating

Ratio = (4.6 × 10^5) / (7.5 × 10^4)

To divide numbers in scientific notation, we subtract the exponents:

Ratio = (4.6 / 7.5) × (10^5 / 10^4)

Ratio = 0.613333 × 10^1

We can simplify 0.613333 to 0.613 to make calculations easier:

Ratio ≈ 0.613 × 10^1

To convert this to standard notation, we multiply 0.613 by 10:

Ratio ≈ 6.13

Therefore, the Red Savina Habanero is approximately 6.13 times hotter than the Thai Pepper.