Final answer:
A microcentury, a term often used in mathematics and physics, is approximately equal to a 50-minute span, which is the typical length of a lecture period. This term is seldom used with precision, providing instead an easily relatable timescale. Hence, the answer to this question is option (a) 50 minutes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question hinted that a microcentury is nearly equivalent to the length of a lecture period, which is commonly scheduled for 50 minutes. Although a century typically represents 100 years, a microcentury is not 100 minutes but rather an often-used playful unit of time in mathematics and physics, being approximately equal to a 50-minute span. It is important to note that these approximations are often used to provide relatable timescales during explanations and are not always completely precise. The measure is based on the idea of taking a 'century' (100 years) and scaling it down by a factor of a 'micro' (one millionth). Therefore, the duration of a microcentury in minutes is closest to 50 minutes, thus making option (a) the correct answer.
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