Determine how many orders of magnitude the quantities differ.
A canary weighing 20 g and a hen weighing 2 kg.
I want to say 1 but I am not sure...
1 kg = 1000 g
so 2 kg = 2000 g
so 2000/20 = ???
To determine how many orders of magnitude the quantities differ, we need to compare the powers of 10 in the two quantities.
1. Convert the weights to a standard unit. Let's use grams (g) as the standard unit.
- The canary weighs 20 g.
- The hen weighs 2,000 g (1 kg = 1,000 g).
2. Write the numbers in scientific notation.
- The canary: 20 g = 2 x 10^1 g (since 20 = 2 x 10^1).
- The hen: 2,000 g = 2 x 10^3 g (since 2,000 = 2 x 10^3).
4. Determine the difference in exponents.
- The difference in exponents is 2 - 1 = 1.
Therefore, the quantities (canary and hen weights) differ by one order of magnitude. Your initial intuition was correct!