Question

enrique is measuring the mass of a flower petal. which unit of measurement should he use to eliminate the need to write the value in scientific notation?

grams
centimeters
liters
kilograms

Explanation:

Identify the physical quantity being measured

The problem states that Enrique is measuring the mass of a flower petal.

Eliminate units that do not measure mass

• Centimeters measure length.
• Liters measure volume.

Compare the remaining mass units for a flower petal

• A flower petal has an extremely small mass.
• Kilograms are used for much larger masses (e.g., humans, books). Measuring a petal in kilograms would result in a very small decimal value (e.g., \(0.0001\text{ kg}\)), which often requires scientific notation (\(1 \times 10^{-4}\text{ kg}\)).
• Grams (or milligrams) are appropriate for very light objects. Measuring in grams yields a standard decimal value (e.g., \(0.1\text{ g}\)) that does not require scientific notation.

Answer:

• grams (Correct answer)
• centimeters
• liters
• kilograms