volume_mute

Human hair measurement unit

publish date: 2023/12/27 15:56:00 UTC

volume_mute

A human hair has a diameter of about 6.0 x 10-5.  Suggest an appropriate unit for this measurement and write the diameter of a human hair in terms of that unit.

Correct Answer

micro

Explanation

The scientific notation 10−5 is close to 10−6, which defines the microprefix. Let us use micrometers as the unit for hair diameter. The number 6.0 × 10−5 can be written as 60 × 10−6, and a micrometer is 10−6 m, so the diameter of a human hair is about 60 μm  .

Prefix Abbreviation Multiplicative Amount
giga- G 1,000,000,000 ×
mega- M 1,000,000 ×
kilo- k 1,000 ×
deci- d 1/10 ×
centi- c 1/100 ×
milli- m 1/1,000 ×
micro- μ 1/1,000,000 ×
nano- n 1/1,000,000,000 ×
pico- p 1/1,000,000,000,000 ×

Reference

Beginning Chemistry v. 1.0, go-math-science.com

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