A strand of hair has an average mass of 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces. A grain of rice has an average mass of 0.002 ounces. How much heavier is a grain of rice than a strand of hair? Express your answer in scientific notation.

Question

An image showing a single, long blond strand of hair delicately resting on a finger of a Caucasian hand. Beside it, on a different fingertip of the same hand, lies a tiny grain of white rice. Contrast the two by making the sizes appear drastically different: the strand of hair should appear very thin and almost weightless, while the grain of rice should appear larger and heavier. The background should be a minimalist white to bring out the contrast clearly.

A strand of hair has an average mass of 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces. A grain of rice has an average mass of 0.002 ounces. How much heavier is a grain of rice than a strand of hair? Express your answer in scientific notation.

Answer 1

The difference in mass between a grain of rice and a strand of hair can be found by subtracting the mass of a strand of hair from the mass of a grain of rice.

Mass of grain of rice = 0.002 ounces
Mass of strand of hair = 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces

Difference in mass = Mass of grain of rice - Mass of strand of hair

Difference in mass = 0.002 ounces - 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces

Difference in mass = 0.002 - 0.0000217

Difference in mass = 0.0019783

In scientific notation, this is written as 1.9783 × 10^-3.

Therefore, a grain of rice is 1.9783 × 10^-3 ounces heavier than a strand of hair.

Answer 2

To compare the mass of a grain of rice to that of a strand of hair, we need to subtract the mass of the hair from the mass of the rice.

Given:
Mass of hair strand = 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces
Mass of grain of rice = 0.002 ounces

To find the difference in mass, subtract the mass of the hair from the mass of the rice:

0.002 ounces - 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces

To subtract these numbers, we need to convert the mass of the hair strand to the same units as the grain of rice.

Since there are 16 ounces in a pound, we can convert the hair mass to pounds by multiplying it by the conversion factor:

2.17 × 10^-5 ounces * (1 pound / 16 ounces)

Simplifying this calculation:

2.17 × 10^-5 ounces * (1/16) pounds

To express the mass of the hair strand in scientific notation, we can write:

2.17 × 10^-5 * 1/16 pounds

Now, divide the hair strand mass by the rice mass:

0.002 ounces - (2.17 × 10^-5 * 1/16) pounds

To perform this calculation, convert the hair strand mass to ounces by multiplying by the conversion factor:

(2.17 × 10^-5 * 1/16) * 16 ounces

Simplifying the calculation:

2.17 × 10^-5 ounces

Now we can subtract:

0.002 ounces - 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces

Subtracting these values gives us:

0.0019783 ounces

To express this result in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point two places to the left:

1.9783 × 10^-3 ounces

Therefore, a grain of rice is approximately 1.9783 × 10^-3 ounces heavier than a strand of hair.

Answer 3

To find out how much heavier a grain of rice is than a strand of hair, we need to subtract the mass of the hair from the mass of the rice.

The mass of the hair is given as 2.17 × 10^-5 ounces.

The mass of the rice is given as 0.002 ounces.

To subtract the masses, we can write it as a mathematical equation:

Mass of rice - Mass of hair = Difference in mass

0.002 - 2.17 × 10^-5 = Difference in mass

Now, let's subtract the masses:

0.002 - 2.17 × 10^-5 = 0.0019983

The difference in mass is 0.0019983 ounces.

To express this answer in scientific notation, we need to move the decimal point two places to the left:

0.0019983 = 1.9983 × 10^-3

Therefore, a grain of rice is 1.9983 × 10^-3 ounces heavier than a strand of hair.