What is the speed of hair growth in m/s?

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SUMMARY

The speed of hair growth is calculated to be 8 x 10-9 m/s based on a growth rate of 5 mm per week. This conversion involves using 604800 seconds for one week and converting 5 mm to 0.005 meters. The closest multiple choice answer provided in the test is 5 x 10-9 m/s, indicating a potential error in the test's options or a misunderstanding of the question. The calculations presented are accurate and highlight the importance of unit conversion in physics problems.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of unit conversion (meters to millimeters)
  • Basic knowledge of time measurement (seconds in a week)
  • Familiarity with scientific notation
  • Basic arithmetic operations (division)
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  • Research unit conversion techniques for different measurements
  • Learn about scientific notation and its applications in calculations
  • Explore common errors in multiple choice tests and how to identify them
  • Study the biology of hair growth rates and their measurement
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Students preparing for science tests, educators creating multiple choice questions, and anyone interested in the physics of biological growth rates.

BogMonkey
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I'm looking at a multiple choice test here and here's one of the questions
Q.) Your hair grows 5mm per week. What is its speed in m/s?

I calculating everything to appropriate units and got
time = 604800 seconds
length = 0.005 metres
then to get the rate of metres per second I divided 0.005m / 604800s and got
8 x 10-9 m/s
None of the multiple choices match that answer though. The closest answer is 5 x 10-9 m/s
I assume I did something wrong here but I can't see what.
 
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Your answer looks good to me. The creator of the test must have made an error, or you have read the question incorrectly.
 
Thanks.
 

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