Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Just as precise measurements are necessary in science, it is equally important to be able to make rough estimates of quantities using rudimentary ideas and common observations. Think of ways by which you can estimate the following (where an estimate is difficult to obtain, try to get an upper bound on the quantity):
the number of strands of hair on your head
Advertisements
Solution 1
Area of the head surface carrying hair = A
With the help of a screw gauge, the diameter and hence, the radius of a hair can be determined. Let it be r.
∴Area of one hair = πr2
Number of strands of hair `~~ "Total surface area"/("Area of one hair"pi) = A/r^2`
Solution 2
Let us assume that the man is not partially bald. Let us further assume that the hair on the head are uniformly distributed. We can estimate the area of the head. The thickness of a hair can be measured by using a screw gauge. The number of hair on the head is clearly the ratio of the area of head to the cross-sectional area of a hair.
Assume that the human head is a circle of radius 0.08 m i.e., 8 cm. Let us further assume that the thickness of a human air is 5 x 10-5m.
Number of hair on the head =Area of the head/Area of cross – section of a hair
=π (0.08)2/π(5 x 10-5)=64 x 10-4/25 x 10-10=2.56 x 106
The number of hair on the human head is of the order of one million.
RELATED QUESTIONS
The farthest objects in our Universe discovered by modern astronomers are so distant that light emitted by them takes billions of years to reach the Earth. These objects (known as quasars) have many puzzling features, which have not yet been satisfactorily explained. What is the distance in km of a quasar from which light takes 3.0 billion years to reach us?
Exercise
While measuring the length of an object using a ruler, the position of your eye should be
500 gm = ______ kilogram.
Complete the analogy.
Height of a person: cm :: Length of your sharpened pencil lead:______?
Guess the lengths to draw these things. Ask your friend to draw the same. After you make the drawing use a scale to measure the length. Whose drawing showed a better guess?
| Guess its length and draw |
Measure of your drawing |
Measure of your friend’s drawing |
| An ant of length less than 1 cm |
||
| Pencil of length about 7 cm |
||
| A glass 11 cm high with water up to 5 cm |
||
| A bangle of perimeter 20 cm |
||
| A curly hair of length 16 cm |
Now guess the length and width of many other things. Measure and find the difference between your measure and your guess.
| Size of | Your guess in cm | Your measure in cm | ||
| Length | Width | Length | Width | |
| 100 Rupee note | ||||
| 10 Rupee note | ||||
| 20 Rupee note | ||||
| 5 Rupee note | ||||
| Post card | ||||
| Math-Magic book | ||||
There are two beautiful lakes near a village. People come for boating and picnics in both the lakes. The village Panchayat is worried that with the noise of the boats the birds will stop coming. The Panchayat wants motorboats in only one lake. The other lake will be saved for the birds to make their nests.
- How many kilometers long is the actual boundary of lake A?
There are two beautiful lakes near a village. People come for boating and picnics in both the lakes. The village Panchayat is worried that with the noise of the boats the birds will stop coming. The Panchayat wants motorboats in only one lake. The other lake will be saved for the birds to make their nests.
- A longer boundary around the lake will help more birds to lay their eggs. So which lake should be kept for birds? Which lake should be used for boats?
Match the following:
| Prefix | Symbol | ||
| a. | Centi | i. | k |
| b. | Nano | ii. | c |
| c. | Mili | iii. | n |
| d. | Kilo | iv. | m |
What is the unit of measurements of very small lengths?
What is the unit of measurements of very small lengths?
Length is ______.
The Unit used to measure length ______.
Larger unit for measuring time is ______.
The SI unit of mass is kg.
The radius of atom is of the order of 1 Å and the radius of nucleus is of the order of fermi. How many magnitudes higher is the volume of atom as compared to the volume of nucleus?
In an experiment to estimate the size of a molecule of oleic acid 1 mL of oleic acid is dissolved in 19 mL of alcohol. Then 1 mL of this solution is diluted to 20 mL by adding alcohol. Now 1 drop of this diluted solution is placed on water in a shallow trough. The solution spreads over the surface of water forming one molecule thick layer. Now, lycopodium powder is sprinkled evenly over the film and its diameter is measured. Knowing the volume of the drop and area of the film we can calculate the thickness of the film which will give us the size of oleic acid molecule.
Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
- Why do we dissolve oleic acid in alcohol?
- What is the role of lycopodium powder?
- What would be the volume of oleic acid in each mL of solution prepared?
- How will you calculate the volume of n drops of this solution of oleic acid?
- What will be the volume of oleic acid in one drop of this solution?
