Question

A small paper clip has a mass of about 1 gram. The paper clip has how many times the mass of the $4.8\times {10}^{8}E$. coli bacteria?

Answer 1

Each Escherichia coli bacterium has a mass of $=2\times {10}^{-12}$ g
After $30$ hrs number of bacteria in the pool $=4.8\times {10}^8$
Thus, mass of the total population of bacteria after $30$ hrs $=2\times {10}^{-12}\times 4.8\times {10}^8$ g
$=9.6\times {10}^{-4}$ g
Mass of small paper clip $=1$ g
Thus, the number of times the mass to paper clip is the mass of the $4.8\times {10}^8$ E. coli bacteria $=\frac{9.6\times {10}^{-4}q}{1g}=9.6\times {10}^{-4}$