1.5 × 10 to the power of 5 bacteria are measured to be in a dirt sample that weighs 11 gram. Use scientific notation to express the number of bacteria that would be in a sample weighing 19 grams.
To find the number of bacteria in a sample weighing 19 grams, we can set up a proportion:
\( \frac{1.5 \times 10^5}{11} = \frac{x}{19} \)
\( x = \frac{1.5 \times 10^5 \times 19}{11} \)
\( x = 2.590909 \times 10^5 \)
Therefore, the number of bacteria in a sample weighing 19 grams would be approximately 2.59 × 10^5.