Question

The zookeeper weighed an African elephant to be 9×10³ pounds and an African lion to be 4×10² pounds. How many × greater is the weight of the elephant than the weight of the lion?

a) 2.25×10¹

b) 5

c) 13×10⁵

d) 3.6×10⁶

Answer 1

To find out how many times greater the elephant's weight is than the lion's, you divide the weight of the elephant by the weight of the lion. The calculation (9,000 pounds ÷ 400 pounds) results in 22.5, which is equivalent to 2.25×10¹ in scientific notation; therefore, the elephant's weight is 2.25×10¹ times greater than the lion's.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks us to compare the weight of an African elephant, 9×10³ pounds, with that of an African lion, 4×10² pounds, and determine how many times greater the weight of the elephant is than that of the lion.

To find out how many times greater one value is than another, you divide the larger value by the smaller value. Therefore, we divide the elephant's weight by the lion's weight:

• Convert the given exponents to their numerical equivalents: 9×10³ pounds = 9,000 pounds and 4×10² pounds = 400 pounds.
• Divide the elephant's weight by the lion's weight: 9,000 ÷ 400 = 22.5.
• Convert this result back into scientific notation: 22.5 can be written as 2.25×10¹ in scientific notation.

Therefore, option (a) 2.25×10¹ is the correct answer to how many times greater the weight of the elephant is than the lion.