Question

2. A biologist measures the speed of a swimming amoeba. The amoeba covers a distance of 17.36 microns in 30 seconds. The biologist wished to compare the speed of the amoeba with the speeds of other animals, but the speeds of other animals are listed in kilometers per hour. What is the speed of the amoeba in kilometers per hour? (1 micron = 1 × 10–6 m) Use scientific notation, and express your answer to the correct number of significant figures. You
must show your work for full credit.

Answer 1

(17.36 micron/30sec) x (1x 10⁻⁶ meter/micron) x (1km/1,000 m) x (3600 sec/hr) =

       (17.36 x 10⁻⁶ x 3600) / (30 x 1000)  km/hr  =

                                      0.000 002 083 km/hr