The size of a cell is typically found by capturing an image under a microscope then using software to measure its diameter. Two cells are measured using this method:
Cell M: 5, point, 3, 4, times, 10, to the power minus 35.34×10
−3
centimeters
Cell N: 9, point, 3, times, 10, to the power minus 49.3×10
−4
centimeters
How many times larger is the diameter of cell M than the diameter of cell N? Write your answer in standard notation, rounding to the nearest tenth.
To find how many times larger the diameter of cell M is compared to cell N, we can divide the diameter of cell M by the diameter of cell N:
(5.34 x 10^-3 cm) / (9.3 x 10^-4 cm) = (5.34 / 9.3) x (10^-3 / 10^-4) = 0.57419 x 10 = 5.74
Therefore, the diameter of cell M is approximately 5.74 times larger than the diameter of cell N.