Question

The mass of a small virus is (10⁻²⁰) kg. The mass of an average human cell is (10⁻¹²) kg. Which of the two has a lesser mass? How many times less is it?

a. The virus; 8 times less
b. The virus; 10 times less
c. The human cell; 8 times less
d. The human cell; 10 times less

Answer 1

The virus has a lesser mass than the human cell and it is 10⁸ times less.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to determine which object has a lesser mass, we compare the mass of the virus and the mass of the human cell. The virus has a mass of 10⁻²⁰ kg, while the human cell has a mass of 10⁻¹² kg. Since 10⁻²⁰ kg is smaller than 10⁻¹² kg, we can conclude that the virus has a lesser mass.

To calculate how many times less the mass of the virus is compared to the mass of the human cell, we can divide the mass of the human cell by the mass of the virus.

Mathematically it can be expressed as:

(1.0 x 10⁻¹² kg) / (1.0 x 10⁻²⁰ kg) = 10⁸

Therefore, the virus has a mass that is 10⁸ times less than the mass of the human cell.