The average weight of a blue whale is 4 * 10 ^ 5 pounds. The average weight of an elephant is 1 * 10 ^ 4 pounds. Approximately how many times heavier is a blue whale than an elephant in pounds?
To find out how many times heavier a blue whale is than an elephant, we need to divide the weight of the blue whale by the weight of the elephant:
4 * 10^5 pounds / 1 * 10^4 pounds
This can be simplified by dividing the coefficients and subtracting the exponents:
(4 / 1) * 10^(5 - 4)
= 4 * 10^1
= 40
Therefore, a blue whale is approximately 40 times heavier than an elephant in pounds.