The typical life span of a housefly is about 10⁻² years,while the typical life span of a person is about 10² years.We might say that a housefly lives ________ than a person.
A) four orders of magnitude more
B) four orders of magnitude less
C) four times longer
D) four times shorter

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Orders of magnitude are determined by the power of 10. The life span of a housefly is 10⁻² years, which is 100 times less than 1 year (10⁰). The life span of a person is 10² years, which is 100 times more than 1 year (10⁴). Therefore, the difference in life span between a person and a housefly is 10⁴ - 10⁰ = 10⁴. This means that the housefly lives four orders of magnitude less than a person.

The Typical Life Span of a Housefly Is About 10⁻²