In the microbiologist example, how much longer is a bacterium than the smallest virus in mcm?

In the microbiologist example, how much longer is a bacterium than the smallest virus in mcm?

• A. 7/5000 mcm
• B. 4/5000 mcm
• C. 3/500 mcm
• D. 3/5000 mcm

Answer: (D)

The main idea is to subtract the smallest virus length from the bacterium length to find how much longer the bacterium is. Using the numbers given in the microbiologist example, that difference works out to 3/5000 mcm, which equals 0.0006 mcm. This matches the data described, so it’s the correct difference. The other options represent larger gaps (0.0014, 0.0008, or 0.006 mcm) and don’t align with the measured lengths in the example.

The main idea is to subtract the smallest virus length from the bacterium length to find how much longer the bacterium is. Using the numbers given in the microbiologist example, that difference works out to 3/5000 mcm, which equals 0.0006 mcm. This matches the data described, so it’s the correct difference. The other options represent larger gaps (0.0014, 0.0008, or 0.006 mcm) and don’t align with the measured lengths in the example.