human skin has a thickness of about 5 × 10⁻³ meter. a grain of sand has a thickness of about 1 × 10⁻³ meter…
human skin has a thickness of about 5 × 10⁻³ meter. a grain of sand has a thickness of about 1 × 10⁻³ meter. about how many grains of sand would it take to match the thickness of human skin? grains of sand (1 × 10⁻³) human skin (5 × 10⁻³) ? done
Answer
Explanation:
Step1: Set up division formula
To find the number of grains of sand needed to match the thickness of human - skin, we divide the thickness of human skin by the thickness of one grain of sand. The formula is $\frac{5\times10^{- 3}}{1\times10^{-3}}$.
Step2: Use the rule of dividing numbers in scientific notation
When dividing two numbers in scientific notation $a\times10^{n}$ and $b\times10^{m}$, we use the formula $\frac{a\times10^{n}}{b\times10^{m}}=\frac{a}{b}\times10^{n - m}$. Here, $a = 5$, $b = 1$, $n=-3$, and $m = - 3$. So, $\frac{5\times10^{-3}}{1\times10^{-3}}=\frac{5}{1}\times10^{-3-(-3)}$.
Step3: Simplify the expression
$\frac{5}{1}=5$ and $10^{-3-(-3)}=10^{-3 + 3}=10^{0}=1$. Then $5\times1 = 5$.
Answer:
5