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Calculate the medullary index of a hair whose diameter is 110 microns and whose medulla measures 58 microns. Is this human or nonhuman animal hair?

User Bgies
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2 Answers

4 votes
58/110 = . 53 ( >. 33 so it is an animal)
4 votes

Answer:

The hair is a nonhuman animal hair.

Step-by-step explanation:

To decide if this hair is a human hair or a nonhuman animal hair, we need to calculate the medullary index.

The medullary index has the following formula :


MedullaryIndex=(Medulla'sWidth)/(EntireHair'sWidth) (I)

If we replace the data from the question in the equation (I) :


MedullaryIndex=(58microns)/(110microns)=0.527

The medullary index is 0.527

Now, the medullary index for humans is 0.33 or less while the medullary index for animals is 0.50 or greater.


0.527>0.50

We answer that the hair is a nonhuman animal hair.

User Larsw
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