order of magnitude

• Order of magnitude


  A way to compare the approximate size of different objects
• Objects around the same order of magnitude

  • Apple and orange
• Pineapple compared to lemon

  Pineapple is one order of magnitude larger (10 times larger)
• Dog compared to woodlouse

  Dog is two orders of magnitude longer (100 times longer)
• How to determine order of magnitude

  Count the number of zeros - each zero represents one order of magnitude (10 times greater)
• Calculating order of magnitude difference

  1. Divide the larger measurement by the smaller measurement to get the number of times larger

  2. Count the number of zeros to determine the order of magnitude