Question

Neurons are cells in the nervous system that process and transmit information . And average neuron is about 5 • 10^negative 6 meter in diameter . A standard table tennis ball is 0.04 meter in diameter . About how many times as great is the diameter of a ball than a neuron ?

Answer 1

The tennis ball is 8000 times larger than the neuron.

Explanation:

Average neuron is about
`5*10^(-6)` meter in diameter .

A standard table tennis ball is 0.04 meter in diameter .

To tell about how many times as great is the diameter of a ball than a neuron, we will divide the tennis ball diameter by the neuron diameter.

`(0.04)/(5*10^(-6))`

We will move the 10^-6 in the numerator to positive 10^6

`(0.04*10^(6))/(5)`

=
`(0.04*1000000)/(5)`

=
`(40000)/(5)`

= 8000 times.

So, the tennis ball is 8000 times larger than the neuron.

Answer 2

Since this is about finding the relative value of one parameter to another, our approach of solving this problem is by finding the ratio. In this way, we can compare the degree of their difference.

Ratio = Diameter of ball/Diameter of neuron
Ratio = 0.04 m/5×10⁻⁶ m
Ratio = 8,000
Therefore, the tennis ball is 8,000 times larger than the neuron,